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Question :
Michael you spent a lot of the race
looking closely at the back of Juan Pablo
Montoya's car. Do you think, had you managed to get
past him, you would have left him behind?
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| M.Schumacher
: I think I did. We did a pit stop and
they did a pit stop, I'm not sure
if he'd already done his pit stop or not but I think
we were fast enough by far to stay in front
after the pit stop. It was matter
of David obviously, as he put up a decent gap Montoya
and himself which... well, if the traffic we
had during the first couple of laps after our pit stop
we wouldn't have had this.
It would have been very tight. But
anyway, they did a great
job and they really deserved this win today. |
| Question :
But when you closed right up
on David's car, did you think that there might
be a moment when you could make a move or were you also
aware, with Montoya retired, that if you finished in
second you would have a 33 point advantage?
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| M.Schumacher
: I knew both and I kept on pushing because
in Monaco, nothing is for certain
and you really have to go until the last
lap, last corner, and that's what I did. I was
trying to get my opportunity
but he drove a fine race and didn't give me any chance.
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| Question :
Michael. Was traffic worse for you?
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| M.Schumacher
: No. I thought the guys
did a very good job today, staying out of the way. It
was very good. |
| Question :
Do you end up following
the car in front or are you still taking you own lines?
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| M.Schumacher
: You do whatever is necessary.
Sometimes you end up taking your own lines, sometimes
you follow. |
| Question :
You must get almost mesmerised lap
after lap? |
| M.Schumacher
: Not really, because it was quite entertaining
to watch Juan. He was clipping a few
barriers, locking up, going sideways.
He was overdriving a bit. It
was actually sometimes I thought he would
be close to that he is going to hit something
and if I was staying too
close it could be a problem, so
he didn't, he kept his concentration together, but we
were both not fast enough to keep up with David.
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| Question :
How was the car today?
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| M.Schumacher
: Good. No problem. |
| Question :
Were you told about David's smoke?
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| M.Schumacher
: I could see it. I told the team actually.
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| Question :
What was your reaction. Did you think
he was not going to be around long?
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| M.Schumacher
: Not necessarily. You have seen this
in other circumstances. It doesn't necessarily
mean it must go wrong, but obviously the
possibility is there and you have to watch out for
oil being on the circuit. It is never
certain what is going to happen. |
| Question :
Michael. Did you honestly
expect to be second today. Did you think you could get
first or did you just want to get
to the end of the race and score
as many points as possible?
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| M.Schumacher
: You always try. The race is very
long and with the pit stop strategy we knew
we could maybe improve. So, you never
believe where you are that is where you are going
to finish. You always have to think positive. |
| Question :
Michael. Looking back at qualifying
do you think Bridgestone was too conservative
with the tyres or did they risk too much? |
| M.Schumacher
: Too conservative or
risk too much? Well, for whatever reason
we were not good enough compared to
the race. We were very
good in the race so you
can't say they have been too
conservative or too aggressive. No. Simply with
the difference of tyre manufacturers they can have this
sort of behaviour-very good for one lap and maybe not
so consistent and maybe the
other way around for the others. We have sent
his recently in Austria. Qualifying was rather tight
compared to the race.
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| Question :
Michael. Looking
back over the last two weeks, how much of a
distraction has it all been
and do you feel that all the furore in Austria
is behind you and you can get on with the championship
now without the fuss?
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| M.Schumacher
:
Honestly I felt before the race
like that. Obviously, when you
sit in the car it is not something you think
about, you just concentrate
on your job and it is
unfortunate to have things going on like this, but it
is part of life.
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