|
Question :
Michael, first win
in Austria completes the set of winning at all the
circuits, but it's very obvious you've taken no joy
from this victory.
|
| M.Schumacher
: Yes, very obvious. As Rubens
pointed out, it was a team decision. Last year,
I was sort of involved in the situation because
I felt the championship
was much more tight than it was
this year. This year I didn't
even think about this, and before
the race I was asked and I said 'I don't believe
there is going to be a team strategy involved.'
And suddenly, they told me
that he would move over and yeah, I'm
not very pleased about it either. I think nobody of
us is honestly but then we
have to look what is the team's ambitions and
the team's ambition is to win the championship and you
have to secure this because you never know what is going
to happen in the next races. Therefore, well,
I have to thank Rubens because he
has done a fantastic race, he has been outstanding
all weekend, honestly and this gesture in the
way we have done it
shows the sort of work we are doing together,
the belief that we have in each other and the relationship
to some degree because it's not natural what he has
been doing, the way he's doing it and I'm
just thankful for him, for the points but obviously
I don't take a lot of joy from the victory.
|
| Question :
Who actually made this
decision?
|
| M.Schumacher
: At the end of the day,
it comes from Ferrari itself and there is
obviously the top person
at Ferrari is Mr. Montezemolo and it
goes down to Mr. Todt and so on. Who
is in the end the person, I don't
know but believe me, the team is investing
a lot of money for one sort of target and
imagine in the end it
wouldn't be enough by the this amount of
points, how stupid would
we look? We have always had this
philosophy, I think it is very well known to everybody
that this is the philosophy, it's
within the sport. Some people may like
it, some people may not like it. As I said
today, I felt a little bit sorry as well and I'm not
really in favour of it but then
you never know what happened in the end. I'm
sure that the way Rubens drove today he
has a lot of opportunities to secure victories this
year and I told him on the podium that I
hope that the championship is soon finished so
we can go for real racing. I'm sure he's going to win
loads of races.
|
| Question :
Michael, you've
heard everyone's reaction in
here and out there. What do you think it's going to
do to your reputation and the reputation of the sport?
|
| M.Schumacher
:
I don't think it is the
way we would like to have the situation,
certainly. I'm not very pleased about it
either, especially the way this
year is going, but then we probably have
to respect the team for this decision, although maybe
there isn't a lot of
respect from some people. But these people who
don't respect the decision don't run a team and don't
know how much there is involved in the one target we
have. In the end, if we may
the opportunity to do it, to win the championship,
then.... If you look at last year,
we had the same
situation and in the end it wasn't probably necessary
to do what we have done here last year but
you don't know before. If you
look at what has happened with Hakkinen and Coulthard
in 1999, Hakkinen could have almost lost the
championship because of the Spa situation in 1999.
If this would have
happened, I'm sure some of you guys would have
gone back and said why didn't you let him go by
there. It's a two way situation where you never win,
you will always be the loser and as I said,
I'm not very happy about it either,
today. I wished they wouldn't have
come on the radio to tell me this. I wish
we could have finished the race the way it
was. I was pushing until the end, and you never
know what is going to happen but it
was clearly not enough. He did a superb race, Rubens,
today. He simply has outpaced me this weekend
and that's something, from the team point
of view, is actually, from the
team point of view, to some degree, challenging,
I would say, even from my point of view. Having
a strong guy like him next to me is really pushing
me. So the race itself I enjoyed with
the exception of the last couple of hundred meters.
|
| Question :
How was the car during
the race, which car did you take?
|
| M.Schumacher
: I took the
normal race car, we didn't have any problems.
|
| Question :
Was it performing as you
were complaining about it in qualifying?
|
| M.Schumacher
: No, it
was performing good. You saw I did the fastest lap time,
so it can't be really that bad, but once
you're behind and then
obviously with the safety car
strategy, coming in behind
Rubens meant that I lost some time, then I
was sitting behind Ralf and I never could close the
gap any more so I
was sitting there and just had to
accept that I wasn't fast enough this weekend.
|
| Question :
Were you also called in
by the team?
|
| M.Schumacher
:
Yes, it's pretty natural
for this situation to call in both
cars. You lose less by staying behind, you lose
five or ten seconds, but going round once
behind the safety car means you lose maybe 20 seconds,
so it was a very clever decision by the team to do so.
|
| Question :
Do you
think the sport's credibility has
been damaged today?
|
| M.Schumacher
: I don't think
so because we have seen this in racing all
the time. I'm sure next week there will be lots of moaning
and lots of complaints about
this, but then you see the sport has
always seen things like this, whether they are in
the middle of the season or whether they are a
little bit earlier or a little bit later in the season,
they have always been. Some will understand, some will
not understand, maybe the majority here
today is not understanding. I understand this
as well, but I don't think
this is in our hands honestly. At least, today it wasn't.
|
| Question :
Just a point
perhaps, you have actually pulled
over for your team - mate in the past when
the championship was in another situation...
|
| M.Schumacher
: Yes.
No, I don't think it would
be any different. The think
you mustn't forget is
that Rubens was very
unlucky at the beginning of the season
with his retirements so right now,
looking at the point situation,
unfortunately for Rubens, it's too
clear in my favour and that's probably why the
team took this decision. If the points situation was
much more close, I'm sure they wouldn't
have done anything.
|
| Question :
Michael. According to your
very strong position in the team, couldn't you have
disobeyed the order?
|
| M.Schumacher
:
I was thinking very
strongly about this and that is why
said I was hoping there wouldn't
be such an order. If you can see the telemetry data
on the straight when Rubens backed
off, I backed off but then he backed off even further.
You sit outside and you have a lot
of time to think about all of this.
We sit in there and it wasn't a long preparation of
discussion. They came on in the last couple of metres
on the radio and
said that he would back off.
I didn't feel like, but then I have to be honest to
say no it was probably the wrong decision
to win this race, yes I agree, but if I had the
chance to turn it around I would
probably do but I cannot now.
|
|
Question :
Michael.
In the unilaterals, did you
say you discussed a situation such as this in the
morning and thought it was not necessary?
|
| M.Schumacher
:
No we didn't
discuss it. This morning
I was asked by a journalist whether I would expect
any such decision and I said no.
|
| Question :
Michael, what is
this championship worth now?
|
| M.Schumacher
:
I didn't know I am champion
yet.
|
| Question : If you win this championship,
Michael, what is this championship worth now?
|
| M.Schumacher
:
I don't think that
is a very nice question to ask now.
|
| Question :
Isn't this a sport? Isn't
this about motor racing?
|
| M.Schumacher
: ( No comment )
|
| Question : Michael. Are you going
to return the victory in the next race to Rubens?
|
| M.Schumacher
: I don't think Rubens
needs me to return this favour. The way he
drives now he is
going to win a race sooner or later by himself, without
me. But be sure, if
he doesn't it will be returned. I was hoping we had
the chance already last year, but
the way the race went in Suzuka we
couldn't, obviously. As I said before I
think he is really strong
this year and he does it out of his efforts.
|
| Question :
Michael.
You said if you could reverse it you
would. Are you then saying that if the FIA excluded
both of you for bringing the sport
into disrepute, you would not
appeal?
|
| M.Schumacher
:
Thank you. |
| Question :
Michael. You
said before in the
German TV commentary that you were longing for the next
race to come up soon to get back to real racing.
So what was this today?
|
| M.Schumacher
: It
was a real race until near the end. You just keep riding
on us. The situation is
as it is. We are all not happy about it, we
have agreed on that, so
the thing I believe, the next race, once
we get into racing,
to some degree it will
fall back and we concentrate on the next
event. That is what I would like to
do because I don't want to go on and
discuss through and
through on this one, because it is not going
to change unfortunately.
|
| Question :
In the
next race are you going to discuss with the team
about team orders two laps before
the chequered flag?
|
| M.Schumacher
:
Honestly, it is not
in our hands. To some degree I am
in favour of this and have always said that team strategy
is important. We are maybe
in a very special situation
this year where we have a very strong car, we
have so far a reasonably comfortable lead in terms
of points, and that is maybe why it is a little
bit more a point of discussion. And that is why as well
that I am not very happy about it. But then what
is really different to last year, to some
degree? It is the same
time in the year, the Grand Prix is the same one, and
you have to see the target of the team.
The team wants to win the championship and they
invest with sponsors, with people behind, so much
money in that, if we fail in this target for maybe a
point in the end, you never know, then we look stupid
and the team simply doesn't want to get into this
situation. And as I said before if
Rubens would have had a different points situation I
am sure the team wouldn't have taken
this decision.
|
| Question :
Michael. Do you know
if the FIA rule against team orders
is still in use?
|
| M.Schumacher
: Whether there is still
an existence of a rule? The funny thing
is if it was in the last race, nobody would complain.
We would do exactly the same. So go to the
facts. The fact is that it is a team
sport, isn't it? So whether you do it a little
bit early in the year or you do it later...and
it is not only us. You keep on picking
on us because we are the highlight, we are in
the first position. But if you go to other
teams they would do exactly the same. It is a
common thing. I have seen it with Sauber, I have
seen it with much smaller teams, where
if a faster driver or a driver for
the points situation is in such
a situation they will call team strategy, sometimes
early in the year, sometimes later. That is the fact.
I know you don't have
the understanding for this, but you have to
maybe see another opinion
and point of view and respect this.
|
|
Question :
Michael. You were talking
about sponsors who may be unhappy if you
miss the championship at the end of the
year, but do you
think they are
happy at this kind of situation?
|
| M.Schumacher
:
Maybe not as happy,
but they would be far less happy if we didn't
win the championship. I would think we are
done (with the questions), because it just goes on and
on and on.
|
| Question :
Michael.
Ferrari is such a strong team in every way.
You say it would look
stupid if it failed to win the world championship
given this sort of result, but are
there any signs that the team
can learn that this kind of
event makes it look
more stupid than it would in
that kind of situation?
|
| M.Schumacher
: In the
end of last year, did anyone ask me about Austria? No.
Everyone in the end altogether thought it was okay
and it was a fantastic
job the team had done. Nobody discussed about
Austria any more because it is one event
out of 17 and that is simply it. Let's not
go on and on about it because
there is no point. We have discussed why and what
is the reason, we have gone through
the emotions of the people sitting here, and that is
it.
|
| Question :
Michael
do you want
to win the world
championship because you are the best racer or because
you have got the best contract?
|
| M.Schumacher
:
(No comment)
|
| Question :
All three of
you are talking about this as a team sport. Why do we
have an individual world championship for
drivers?
|
| M.Schumacher
: (No comment)
|
|
|
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