| Question
: Michael,
it's interesting that your qualifying
time is just slower than last year's. |
| M.Schumacher
: I
don't know that it's
so good when you imagine how much
money everybody has invested to go faster and
then we go a little bit slower from one
year to another, but we are sitting
here in the middle. That's
what we were aiming for and that's what we have
achieved. Everybody was feeling bored after Australia
and thinking it's going to be an easy season
and you see what's going to happen: things
are tight and we're going to
have an interesting race tomorrow, I think. |
| Question
: Did
track conditions change to cause you to go out
early for your final run, instead of waiting a
usual? |
| M.Schumacher
:
It was only a matter
of traffic, honestly, and Ross
thought it was a good
moment to go. Honestly, if you look
at the temperature, we should have waited until
the very end, because I guess it was even
cooler at the very end than it was
when I went. I did the same time and
that was really the situation, we couldn't really
improve further. |
| Question
: Michael,
looking towards tomorrow's race,
what are your predictions? |
| M.Schumacher
: Honestly,
the weather conditions are going
to be a big factor, and
there's a possibility
of showers, as we had last
year, and in these circumstances,
it's very unpredictable, honestly.
Our aim is clear. We
want to be finishing the race
as high as we can, hopefully with Rubens one place
up or the other way round. That's the aim. Whether
we're going to do it...
There's a couple of cars behind us
that want to change that. |
| Question
: Michael
you seem to have been very relaxed
this weekend and, in fact,
you have not done as many laps
as many others. And yet
it was very close at the end,
it was a bit touch-and-go wasn't
it? |
| M.Schumacher
: Yes
and no. I mean, basically, we had a very good
preparation yesterday, where we did many laps.
We did long runs and we prepared ourselves for
tomorrow and today was only a
matter of qualifying, which
is usually one lap, so that is what we did.We
concentrated on it and we worked our way through.
|
| Question
: So
would you say
the car is
perfect in all conditions? |
| M.Schumacher
: I
would say so, yes,
and obviously, in our tyre situation
we don't have to prepare tyres
for the race. That's why, compared
to our competitors, who seem to have to
run-in their tyres, and prepare them for
the race, there is no need for us (to be concerned).
|
| Question
: So
you are pretty confident from pole? |
| M.Schumacher
: I
think our tyres choice
is a very good one especially for tomorrow. So
I am pretty confident. |
| Question
: Relaxed?
|
| M.Schumacher
: Yes.
Not as confident,
maybe, as in Australia.
But... |
| Question
: Michael,
how do you explain the track not getting
faster towards the end
of the session and probably
as a consequence of this the
pole position time actually
being slower than last year?
|
| M.Schumacher
: I
don't think it's a matter
of the track not getting faster. I
think it is just a matter of the track being
slower than in previous
years because, if everybody
is basically not really faster than
in previous years, I can only explain it
by (saying) the circuit asphalt
may be being less rough, or something
like that. There is no
other decent explanation than
that. |
| Question
: Can
you tell us if there
was any talk in the Drivers'
Briefing yesterday about the
start, subsequent to the last race? |
| M.Schumacher
: No.
|
| Question
: There
has been some talk
about the Michelins being better in
the heat, but there are two Bridgestone-shod
cars up the front. What are your thoughts, please?
Will there be a big difference with the heat and
the tyres here? |
| M.Schumacher
: No.
No I wouldn't think so.
We are pretty much prepared for hot conditions.
We have suffered at some stage last
year, but I believe we have picked up and for
me the factor is that
maybe the other competitor
(Michelin) seemed to struggle
in Australia, in particular, as they have
done in previous years
and our tyres are pretty consistent. We did
not suffer in Australia and we didn't
here and we are pretty stable and we shouldn't
suffer in the heat either. |
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