|
Question :
Michael,
you were slightly down on Rubens at the beginning
of the lap. Did you know that in the car?
|
| M.Schumacher
: No.
We don't have the ability
to know exactly the sector times. We have
our personal sector times but they
don't always compare to what
Rubens uses, for example. So you just
go for the best and see what you get out of it. |
| Question :
Did
it feel like a lap where
you were maybe down at the beginning and picked up a
lot of speed towards the end?
|
| M.Schumacher
: No,
actually I thought I lost in the middle
and in the end of the lap. In turn
nine, I didn't get a good line and
turn eleven wasn't the best. The first
sector was reasonable honestly, but all
weekend Rubens has been very good and very fast so I
was thinking well, I might have to
stick with a position behind him but it turned out to
be better. |
|
Question :
Tell
us about the new car, it's been very quick all weekend,
tell us about the build-up to the weekend
as well?
|
| M.Schumacher
:
Yeah, I imagine it's been a tough
time for everyone in the team to
get the car here and ready
and, naturally, the first time you come here with a
new car there's a lot of extra work, a lot
of things to do, to look at and to control,
and the guys have done a fantastic job. Although the
car is basically three months old for us, a race is
a different situation and the guys
have done a fantastic job, honestly. We knew,
all the time, that the car was a step
forward and finally we have been able
to prove that with official times. |
| Question :
Can
you try to put into words
the differences between this car and last year's car
in terms of driving the lap?
|
| M.Schumacher
:
It's
faster.
|
|
Question :
... and the balance, and the feel?
|
| M.Schumacher
: You
know with a race car, you aim to have
a more neutral car and a more faster car and there's
not one sector we have improved
in particular, we have improved in
all the areas. Each engineer, each
mechanic has made his contribution and worked on each
detail and that's what has made the car
so special although if you imagine
the car that we had last year, you have
to be impressed with the effort those guys have
made.
|
| Question :
He
was probably joking, but yesterday Juan Pablo Montoya
said that he was surprised the new Ferrari wasn't a
little bit quicker. Do you think we've seen the exact
potential of the car today?
|
|
M.Schumacher
: I
think what we have seen over the weekend is that whoever
runs first in qualifying, suffers quite
a bit because the circuit really
improves quite a bit towards the end and we
were one of the first drivers out yesterday,
and I think you see a little bit more what the situation
is now, and you will see the true potential what the
car can do tomorrow.
|
|
Question :
Michael,
tell us about your expectations for this race:
did you really think the pole was on with
a brand new car like this?
|
| M.Schumacher
: Honestly
we knew that there was a
good opportunity for us, yes, because
the car is better than last year's car. We
have been achieving pole positions
with last year's car so naturally you think, on
a circuit like Barcelona where the car counts for so
much in relation to some other
circuits, that this should be a good opportunity. |
| Question :
Tell us about your thoughts for the race?
It's a difficult circuit in terms of tyres, temperatures…
|
| M.Schumacher
: It's
a circuit where the heat comes on
and the tyres take a significant dive and you slide
a lot, so it's an issue where you simply have to control
everything in a way to get consistent lap times
and not overdo it and overstress your tyres and then
maybe suffer at some stage.
|
|
Question :
Michael,
before the start of qualifying Ross said, I think
with a certain amount of frustration,
this track is so inconsistent. To what extent
were you chasing the settings of
the car and gambling with the settings of the
car before qualifying?
|
| M.Schumacher
: Basically
for me it has been the first time
to be here with the new car, Rubens has been here and
so we got some information but at the time we
concentrated on one aspect. This weekend
we tried to concentrate on another
aspect and indeed the circuit did change
temperature, wind direction, so it was maybe not
the most easy to find
the direction to go but in the end we did.
|
| Question :
How
much of a gamble was it?
|
| M.Schumacher
: We
won the gamble so it was a good
one. But it is not that much
of a gamble, it wasn't like we were in completely
one direction and then went to another,
it was just fine-tuning and finding the right set-up.
|
| Question :
The
track temperature came down
a little bit towards the end. Do you think
that made a difference for you?
|
|
M.Schumacher
: I
think less than basically putting rubber on and cleaning
the circuit. That is much more of an effect and influence
and an effect that anything else and I guess it can
only be a degree rather than anything more.
|
| Question : The
World Championship leader
had a bit of a problem out there,
what were your feelings when you saw
that? |
| M.Schumacher
: If
you look at the points situation obviously that
is an opportunity for us, where we are,
where he is. |
|
Question :
Question
to Michael regarding
Fernando. Considering how
young he is, he is running
in front of his home public with the pressure, what
do you think of him, his performance, what is
your opinion about him?
|
| M.Schumacher
: Honestly
I think he does an outstanding job, not only now
he has already done it when he joined Minardi
in my view. He has consistently improved
and he has shown his capability. Concerning
the pressure I don't
know. Normally when you sit in the race
car, from my point of view, you don't consider so much
where you are, you just do your job and
concentrate. Whether he does the same or
not with the extra pressure that is there or not
you will have to ask him. But I think he
does a very good job. |
|
