|
Question :
Michael, 4.4 seconds covered
the first four as they crossed the line, pressure
all the way, two great pit stops. Does it get much
better than that?
|
| M.Schumacher
: No. That's the ideal result,
obviously. It was a tight race, a tough race. We had
to be very careful on our brake side so I wasn't able
to push all the way through and just drove the pace
I needed to and during the pit stop area, that's the
area I started to sort of open the gap a little bit.
Basically, it was a very tricky and tight race as you
said, with the first four cars so close together. |
| Question :
I know you're not into
stats, but you've just taken your score of world championship
points to 999 now and, of course, you've taken the lead
in the world championship. |
| M.Schumacher
: Well, that's a good number.
In Germany that means if you achieve a number like that,
you have to give a drink free to everyone, so let's
see what we're going to do tonight. |
|
Question :
Michael, you said yesterday
wait and see what happens on Sunday. It is interesting,
in fact, that you had virtually the same fuel load
as the Williams drivers.
|
| M.Schumacher
: Yeah, virtually, but just
a little bit more which gave us the race, which meant
that we won and that's what it takes in the end. It
doesn't matter but in the end we were good enough and
we were very good on the start, as well. I was a bit
worried for the start after what I saw in Monaco. The
start went very well and I was just able to stay close
and do the right speed at the right moment to give us
the lead. The crew, the mechanics, did a great job at
the pit stop to get me out in front. |
| Question :
Michael, well done. You
were the challenger during the first stint, but then
you had Ralf on your tail for the rest of the race.
How tough was it out there? |
| M.Schumacher
: Basically, I was pushing
Ralf in the first stint when he went through a graining
phase. It got so close that I started to prepare to
overtake. There were one or two laps when he struggled
badly with his tyres but it was only basically one lap,
and I thought okay, next lap I'm going to get him, but
then his tyres were a little bit better and his exit
out of turn ten was good enough to just keep me behind.
But then we got a little bit into trouble with brakes
and I had to preserve them and wasn't able to push and
probably their performance picked up throughout the
race for whatever reason, so it got very tight. It's
difficult to say how much quicker they could have gone
or we could have gone if we had the ability to push
with our brakes all the way through. At the end of the
day, what counts is how it finished and that's obviously
to our end and we're obviously very happy. |
|
Question :
Leading the World Championship
now is obviously important as we go into the second
half of the season.
|
| M.Schumacher
: Yeah, it's always important
to go into the lead and try to get as many points as
you can. The season is going to be a long one and we
knew that from the beginning and we've sort of had confirmation
by now and it will be a tough fight to the end. |
| Question :
After qualifying yesterday,
you didn't really give the message that you could perhaps
win this race today. |
|
M.Schumacher
: Well, because I think
it was very unclear what is the direction it's going
to go, because if you see, for example, in Monte Carlo
on the Thursday practice, we were miles ahead, on
the Saturday, it was completely the reverse. Yesterday,
here, with the green track, it was the complete opposite
so I was hoping that maybe in the race it worked in
our favour and it did look like it in the first stint
so at this stage yesterday, obviously, I wasn't sure
of the situation - and I was a little bit pessimistic
still with an open mind, obviously.
|
|
Question :
Michael, you said earlier
this week that this is not a track to your liking
yet this is the sixth time you have won here. What
is it about the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve that you
don't like but you keep on winning?
|
| M.Schumacher
: First of all I am surprised
you say I don't like this circuit. I haven't said that,
honestly, and actually, for overtaking it is a good
circuit this one, so I don't know where you got your
statements. But the fact is that I have circuits that
I feel are a higher challenge, as in Suzuka and Spa.
What is the reason why I am doing well here compared
to other circuits? I have no idea. I don't know. To
my nature, it is actually not the right circuit because
I feel I have usually I show up in high-speed corners
and other kind of circuits, as Suzuka combinations rather
than stop-and-go circuits. So, I have no reason. I guess
I just have a good car. |
| Question :
Ralf, you and your team
have worked very hard on the development of your car
and you have paid tribute to the team. Today was your
best opportunity to compare the performance of your
car with Michael's. Can you tell us the areas where
you think you are good and where you are weak and perhaps
Michael can tell us what he thinks about the performance
of the Williams. |
| R.Schumacher
: Well, simply feeling my
car and looking at his I think we did a better job on
the set-up side. My car looked a lot easier to drive
today, but that could have been about tyres - Juan seemed
to have some traction problems from looking behind.
But here it is fair to say we would have been better
but then, you know, it could change from circuit to
circuit. Michael, at this circuit, fits very well, but
as I said before the car is really getting there. |
| M.Schumacher
: Not much to say, honestly.
I don't know whether it is the car is it? He went particularly
well through the last chicane I thought. That is the
only thing I can say. |
|
Question :
First question, Michael,
is that we know it is a custom in your country to
buy everyone a round of drinks. I just wanted to let
you know that a bunch of my colleagues are going out
after and I was just wondering if you would...
|
| M.Schumacher
: You look like you drink
a lot. |
| Question :
Touche!
|
| M.Schumacher
: It is going to be expensive
for me. Too much beer. |
|
Question :
Second question, to all
three of you. A lot of has been made about the lack
of competitiveness in Formula One but today's race
showed that is not the case. Can you comment on that?
|
| M.Schumacher
: The nature of sport is
that it is unpredictable and that is what we have seen
in all the years of many, many sports and that is the
way with Formula One. Sometimes there are straight-forward
races and sometimes they are very tight races and they
come every so often in whatever order, but as I say
that's sport. |
| R.Schumacher
: After last year, certainly
I have to say that no-one expected it to change that
quickly, but it is great for us, great for the sport.
Obviously Michael doesn't like it but it is great to
see different cars winning this year. |
| J.P.Montoya
: I have nothing to add.
|
| Question :
How do you comment about
this disaster for McLaren this weekend. |
| M.Schumacher
: I think actually to see
Kimi going from the pitlane, I think he had a problem
with the tyre and then still finished sixth, that's
not too bad, honestly. After I heard he had this problem
with the tyre I wouldn't have expected him to be in
the points. |
|
Question :
Michael, after the results
of the last two weeks and now you are in front in
the drivers' championship, do you see Williams as
the biggest threat to you or is it still McLaren or
is it both?
|
| M.Schumacher
: If you analyse this season
you have clearly to say that there is some character
of circuit which seems to suit one and other characters
the other team so you simply have to count them both,
in terms of championship points, but obviously it is
more tight with Kimi and McLaren. |
| Question :
A great race guys. Exciting,
tense, close, but the bottom line is at the end, you
have four cars and no-one could overtake. Is that a
state of this particular race or is it the cars in Formula
One in general, or what is the deal? |
|
M.Schumacher
: The deal is that those
cars are so competitive and so close together that
it is simply too close competition to get the chance
of overtaking.
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