Question
: Kimi,
from where you started yesterday in terms of your
qualifying, in terms of what happened in Hockenheim,
a great result today.
Kimi
Raikkonen: Yeah, it was good. We did a little gamble
yesterday with the fuel loads because we knew we
would be penalised a lot starting first and it paid
off. I am pretty happy, we had a very good car,
I was stuck behind Michael halfway through the race
then I had one lap longer and passed him and then
we were away and that was it, but it was a bit disappointing
for the team because it would have been one-two
but anyway I am very happy.
Q:
You say you were stuck behind Michael but it was
a very impressive show in the early laps, you and
Michael out there racing together, how did the cars
compare?
Kimi
Raikkonen: He just always pulled away in the last
corner so I couldn't get close to him on the straight
line. At the start of the race I was maybe a similar
speed but after the first stops I was a bit quicker
so I got closer but I couldn't get past. I got close
but then some traffic came but it wasn't that bad
and luckily we chose different tactics and from
that point on there came the difference.
Q:
On the second stop you took on much less fuel, was
that a decision taken during the race?
Kimi
Raikkonen: No. We stopped the first time then we
changed it to what they thought was the best time
to stop the second time. They made a great decision
on that.
Q:
You set fastest lap on lap 40, just before your
team-mate Juan Pablo retired with a driveshaft,
I believe. At that point you were seven seconds
behind him, did you think the win was there for
you if he remained in the race?
Kimi
Raikkonen: I don't know and nobody will ever know.
I had a very good car and after we stopped the last
time I knew we had plenty of space and I didn't
push, the car could have gone quite a bit quicker
still but there was no point risking anything.
Q:
Michael, a lot of pressure in those early laps,
indeed right at the end from Ralf, talk through
those early laps.
Michael
Schumacher: Well, actually I was pretty happy with
the pace we were able to run, there wasn't that
much between us considering that he stopped earlier
so he was lighter at that stage. It seemed pretty
similar but with time our tyres sort of went slower.
Staying in front after the first pit stop I saw
he was coming and he was then quicker but not quick
enough to get by us and it was only about who would
stop when and we were obviously hoping they would
stop in front of us but they managed to stay out
one more lap and that moved the race towards them.
I think if we would have been able to stay in front
after the pit stops, because it is so difficult
to pass, we might have had a chance but we will
never find out. It was a good race, anyway, for
us. From where we came, to finish second, we are
pretty happy on that, we had a good weekend and
to finish second is a good motivation for everyone
in the team. Hard work for all of them in the last
few months and a little payback.
Q:
In that second stop you took on a lot more fuel
thank Kimi, so when Juan Pablo was out of the race
and it was you and Kimi fighting for the lead he
had an advantage of a lighter car.
Michael
Schumacher: After the second stop. Yes, but he was
in front and he had enough of a gap and his pace
was anyway too fast, there was no chance. There
was only one chance, that at the second pit stop
I had to come in at the same time or one lap later.
That could have given us an opportunity to try and
stay ahead but one it was done no matter what we
did it wasn't quick enough.
Q:
Then your younger brother made things interesting
for you in the last couple of laps of the race.
Michael
Schumacher: Yeah, he got closer. Obviously our tyres
started to get slower and I watched out for the
tyres as soon as I knew I couldn't do anything against
Juan and Kimi, at that stage I just preserved the
tyres and drove as quickly as I needed to drive.
As I said it is so difficult to overtake and by
the end of the race everybody's tyres are a bit
down and it is even more difficult so I just went
as quickly as I had to, Ralf was quicker but not
quick enough to pass here.
Q:
Ralf, congratulations on your first podium for Toyota.
A great drive, a three-stop strategy and running
strong all afternoon.
Ralf
Schumacher: Yeah, I mean I must say the team did
a great job over the weekend. I must admit that
I was not 100 percent positive about our strategy
we chose, but the chief engineer was right to take
it, so thanks to him! It was a great weekend for
us, being third and fifth in qualifying, the car
went great, the pit stops were perfect, so it was
all good.
Q:
What were your queries? To do with how you qualify
with different fuel loads or how you split the race
after you had opted for a three-stop strategy?
Ralf
Schumacher: Again, it is a difficult task here.
For the tyre, we expected such a high temperature
and you never know, it was a balance of looking
after the tyre but not being first in the pits and
still having a reasonable qualifying position. We
have had a lot of comments about us being good in
qualifying and not able to maintain position in
the race but I think we shocked people today that
we are able to go as fast as anyone else except
maybe McLaren. But they are driving in a different
world at the moment anyway.
Q:
And how was that Ferrari in the closing laps?
Ralf
Schumacher: Well, you could see he was doing the
pace he needed to and out of the final corner he
had a really good exit so there was no chance to
really get him on the straight and I was waiting
for a mistake, which he didn't do.
Q:
Kimi, a big ten-point chunk out of Fernando Alonso's
championship lead in this race. What are your thoughts
now?
Kimi
Raikkonen: Yeah, for sure it looks better now than
after the last race but it is just unlucky that
we always seem to throw away ten points and he gets
it then at the next race we get it back. We are
just going backwards and forwards all the time,
but it definitely looks better again and there are
still six races to go and if we can do these kinds
of results and maybe something happens to him we
can definitely still fight for the championship
and that is what we are going to do.
Q:
Kimi, the first stint was quite a short one. Obviously
you were hoping to get out in front of Michael and
it finally happened at the second stop really.
Kimi
Raikkonen: Yes, we chose a different tactic on Saturday
for qualifying because we knew we were going to
be penalised a lot in the position that we started.
Q:
So it was the second stop that made the difference?
Kimi
Raikkonen: Yes, we stopped one lap later. We didn't
know when they were going to stop so we were waiting
and waiting and luckily enough we could go one lap
longer and we changed our tactics and then push
as hard as we could and make a gap big.
Q:
Do you feel you had the quickest car out there --
you won the race.
Kimi
Raikkonen: We won the race, but of course Montoya
was unlucky, but I don't know what would have happened
and nobody does.
Q:
You spent a lot of time behind Michael in those
first laps of the race, was there just no way to
get by him?
Kimi
Raikkonen: Yes, pretty much, otherwise I would have
tried. I would say that before the first pit stop
I was not quick enough even but then up to the second
stop, just before I was quicker, but every time
I got close he was very quick through the last corner
so I couldn't do anything and some places I was
catching but it is so narrow here that it is not
really possible to overtake.
Q:
So this means you still have a bit of a chance in
the championship.
Kimi
Raikkonen: Yes, much better than before the start
of this race, so we are going to do the best we
can and hopefully we can close the gap in the next
two races then push as hard as we can and try to
catch them.
Q:
Michael, quite a lively afternoon for you. You like
racing, did you enjoy it today?
Michael
Schumacher: Yeah, but honestly it wasn't that tight.
Ask Kimi. He was following but there wasn't much
of an opportunity. At the end I was getting closer
to Rubens, lapping him, and coming into a certain
distance he just looked so fast it is almost impossible,
you need to be a lot quicker to have an opportunity,
especially at the last corner, it is pretty fast
and you lose so much air that you cannot overtake
and then at the first corner you naturally don't
think it is a chance for anyone. So, I just drove
my pace as good as I could and in the early stages
we were more actually looking for Juan because we
knew we were out longer than Kimi, so we were a
bit surprised that he stayed out one lap longer
than we could.
Q:
Looking at that second stop, you were leading by
less than a second before your second stops, then
after the second stops you were 7.1 seconds behind.
Was that literally because of the more fuel you
had taken onboard?
Michael
Schumacher: It was a combination. I guess at this
stage he was at least a second quicker. He came
in and made a shorter pit stop, he then had a good
lap, I guess, I think I had some traffic when I
came out but I knew when he was out one lap longer
there was not much I could do, it was just drive
it home as much as I could from there and try to
think of a podium, that was the only opportunity.
Q:
Looking at the race as a whole, is it encouraging
for the future, do you feel you have discovered
this new type of tyre that is going to serve you
well for the other races?
Michael
Schumacher: Well, for here it was certainly a step
in the right direction. We have to confirm that
it is the case at different places, but nevertheless
it is very clear where we have to improve and we
will keep on working, but it is obviously good that
we seem to be alright in qualifying and the initial
performance whereas before we were not. So it is
going in the right direction.
Q:
Ralf, third and fourth, a good afternoon for Toyota.
Ralf
Schumacher: Oh, yes, very good. I think we made
the best out of this whole situation, the whole
weekend, basically. It was a great qualifying, good
finish so it was a good weekend for us.
Q:
You were hit by Rubens in the first corner; were
there any lasting effects of that?
Ralf
Schumacher: No, luckily not. The very tight first
turn, everybody tries to get in first and go out
first, so things sometimes happen.
Q:
Then you overtook Jarno at the first stop; how did
that happen?
Ralf
Schumacher: Simply because he pitted a lap earlier.
I knew we were on slightly different strategies,
I mean, one lap, actually I think it was two laps.
That's why. If you pit early, I could go the pace,
had no traffic, that's why I got him.
Q:
Looking back at that first corner incident, there
must have been quite a lot of debris all over the
circuit after the first lap; was that a problem
for you, Michael?
Michael
Schumacher: No, it wasn't too bad.
Q:
Kimi, you have your first anniversary today. Was
this the best gift you could give to Jenni?
Kimi
Raikkonen: Yes, I think so. Maybe I could give something
else. We'll see what happens this evening.
Q:
Kimi, you seem to be really relieved today. Tell
me about your feelings, standing up there and seeing
your wife and family down there, waiting for you,
your Mum and Dad are here as well.
Kimi
Raikkonen: Yes, of course I was happy, because when
we came for this weekend, we knew that it was going
to be very difficult to have a good result and we
came out with a win, so I'm more than happy, and
then it's the best way to go on holiday so why not
be happy.
Q:
Kimi, did your team ever consider doing four pit
stops?
Kimi
Raikkonen: No, we were considering two or three
pit stops. We chose to do three in the end.
Q:
Question to all three of you: What will you do for
the few days before the next race, holidays or what?
Kimi
Raikkonen: I don't know yet. We will see what happens
but something fun.
Michael
Schumacher: Prepare myself for Turkey.
Ralf
Schumacher: Yes, just a few days off with the family,
that's all.
Q:
Michael, how was the feeling to be able to fight
for the win for the first time for a long time?
At Imola, and now again?
Michael
Schumacher: Good. It wasn't long enough to enjoy
the feeling. Honestly speaking, when you fight,
you don't think very much as to whether you are
fighting for a win, for second or for third position.
You just concentrate on what you do and on the fight
itself. Then, at some stage, if you are maybe sure
what position you are in, then the feeling is obviously
different. I was only concentrating on that.
Q:
It's a question for Michael. Yesterday Ross Brawn
said that during the testing of the tyres, sometimes
this year you've felt you've found a tyre in testing
but when you've come to a race it hasn't been as
good as you expected it to be. I'm interesting to
know how long it took to develop this tyre, is it
the tyre to look at for the future, and do you feel
that having unlimited tyre testing helps you to
develop tyres sooner than you would have done otherwise?
Michael
Schumacher: The fact is that we have had tyres at
some races which didn't seem to suit the circuit
and we have been able to find a direction to at
least suit here and now we have to find out whether
it's going to suit the other circuits too, whether
it's a direction or not. It's not about the quantity
or quality of testing.
Q:
Did this tyre come up suddenly in one test or is
it a process of development that produced the tyre
you used today?
Michael
Schumacher: It's a process.
Q:
Michael, did you make your tyre selection yesterday
thinking that it would be colder today than it actually
was? And did you have a problem with your rear tyres
as in Hockenheim a week ago?
Michael
Schumacher: You have, naturally, to make a (tyre)
decision by Saturday morning, eight 'o clock, I
think, which means basically you already decide
on Friday which, after the work Rubens had done,
it was pretty clear what we wanted to do on the
tyres, and the tyres mainly didn't have enough grip
at the end. No, the weather didn't have anything
to do with it. It was clear it was going to be like
that.
Q:
Is it something special to have a brother on the
podium?
Michael
Schumacher: It always is, yes. We have been celebrating
plenty of podiums together. I think it's the first
time we've been on the rostrum together since he's
been with Toyota, so it's obviously more special
for him now.
Ralf
Schumacher: Nothing to add.
Q:
Kimi, can we consider this victory as a compensation
for the bad luck you had in Hockenheim or at the
Nürburgring?
Kimi
Raikkonen: Not really. Of course it always seems
to be that when we have a bad race we stop from
leading a race and we seem to win the next race
and Alonso is giving the ten points back to us.
It's the way we're going forwards and backwards,
but I wouldn't say that there's any feeling that
we've got something back. We worked hard for the
win, maybe in one way we were lucky... as a team,
we were unlucky anyhow because we should have had
two cars in the first two places. We worked hard
and we got a good result for it.
Q:
Ralf, what happened with Fernando in the first corner,
did you see Fernando when you closed in?
Ralf
Schumacher: I what?
Q:
What happened with Fernando?
Ralf
Schumacher: Nothing happened. I turned into the
first corner. Was he there?
Q:
You touched Alonso's front wing.
Ralf
Schumacher: Did I? I didn't realise that. Sorry.