| Question :
Michael.
Last year a bit of a
funny race here. Would you change your approach
this year in terms of tyre choice
for example? |
| M.Schumacher :
I don't think our performance
maybe or disadvantage was down to
the tyre choice itself
in all honesty. We saw in Rubens'
race it was very competitive. We had
the chance of a one-stop strategy which Rubens
did. We were just not very fortunate
to have a good qualifying which meant we
were in a bad position to tackle
the race. Plus we were not strong enough in
total. That was the simple fact. Not because of
tyre choice or anything specific. Plus
then we had a mechanical failure which hopefully
we have learned from that and sorted out
the problems.
|
| Question :
Looking
back at the last race, with Ralf behind
you all the time, a lot of people have wondered,
if the roles had been reversed, if you would have
perhaps mounted more of a challenge than your brother
did. |
| M.Schumacher :
The problem is that people outside Formula
One, who don't really sit
in a Formula One car,
don't understand why it is not
possible to simply get close and overtake.
We have been talking about this
for years and years that you
get to a certain point close to a car in front then
you are in the dirty air and that is about
it. If you are not substantially faster
you never get into the slipstream,
you never get into being very close and to trying
to overtake. I would have been in exactly the
same position, most likely, to Ralf, and
I wouldn't have had any chance to overtake and there
is basically only one chance
and whatever driver is around
we are all going to be in the same position. I
saw Ralf's sector times and I analysed the race. He
was giving it all. It just wasn't enough because we
had a good car, we did a good job all of the weekend
and that is it.
|
| Question :
You have had two incidents with Juan Pablo in the last
two races. Are you worried it is going to happen again?
|
| M.Schumacher :
As
I have said. We both want to
finish the race so whatever happens will
make us more clever for the next race, in
my view.
|
| Question :
There
have been newspaper reports
that Juan Pablo could be your substitute when
you retire from Ferrari. In your point of view is he
the right driver for Ferrari? |
| M.Schumacher :
First
of all I don't intend to retire.
I have made this comment very often.
But your problem is if one newspaper as
a joke writes it everybody is following
that story and has to write
about it because it seems to be the most interesting
story. I am not intending to retire so there is
no point in looking
any further. I think
Jean Todt answered this very clearly this morning. He
is obviously very fast but there are
22 other Formula One drivers who are
also fast. Sure there is one better
than the others and that one is doing a very good job.
|
| Question :
Can
I ask you to respond to that. Do you believe
you were racing in an ungentlemanly fashion?
|
| M.Schumacher :
I
see where you are heading to and I am not getting involved
in your sort of story. I don't see I need
to respond.
|
| Question :
Michael.
Is it difficult when a fellow competitor
is your brother. How fine is the line?
|
| M.Schumacher :
We
are not competing, we are not fighting
each other, a lot of the papers
will tell you. For him it is a great time
to beat me, and for me it is a great time
to beat him. We have a fair attitude
and that is what we have been practising many times
in the past. For some people this seems to be
too difficult to believe or to understand. If
you look at the racing situation we have had we have
never given each other anything. You
compete to some
degree, like you compete with anyone else,
and that's it. We
drive for different companies
we have different interests.
|
| Question :
Michael.
After the race you said you
didn't see anything in turn four. Have you had the
chance to see video images and what would you
say? |
| M.Schumacher :
Yes.
I think we were very close
together and he touched me from the back and he
lost his front nose.
|
| Question :
We
have seen you have won more than 50
races. How do you evaluate the race
in Brazil considering I don't think anybody
else, I don't know about Rubens, but I think everybody
else on Bridgestone tyres
was running on one stop and you had
considerable pressure behind you from what
seemed to be the fastest car
in the race. How do you evaluate that one?
|
| M.Schumacher :
It is not worth ranking
it, but you could imagine that after
qualifying and after the experience we had seen
in Malaysia where in qualifying
we had been competitive but then in the
race we had not been competitive, we were
not sure what was going
to happen in the race. Myself, I was surprised
that the race went that way, that we were so
competitive. I didn't really expect it. If you turn
a non-calculated victory you are obviously
very excited. So I was after the race, but to
put a ranking on it I don't think it is necessary.
|
| Question :
Is
there a possibility that you could have gone for two
stops? |
| M.Schumacher :
Yes,
but we did one. And when you choose
a one-stop strategy you don't stop for two stops!
|
| Question :
To
Michael and Juan Pablo. What do you think of Ross
Brawn's comments after the Brazilian race that
drivers have to understand the
race does not finish after three
corners? |
| M.Schumacher :
He
is right.
|
| |
