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1. Michael SCHUMACHER
(Ferrari), 1h32m07.803s
2. Fernando ALONSO (Renault), 1h32m17.934s
3. Felipe MASSA (Ferrari), 1h32m30.349s
TV UNILATERALS
Q: What a day - it looked like a perfect day for you?
MS: Yes, we had a good start and we drove our race from there. We were not
sure how the race would go because we didn’t do any long runs because of
some problems we had on Saturday morning so it was a bit of a guess where,
and how, the race would go, but I have to say that the car, the tyres, the
whole package really worked superbly and it is a great result. I am sorry
for Felipe that he couldn’t keep his second, but nevertheless back on the
podium and important points we got from that.
Q: You were stunningly quick after the second pit-stop and that was the
decisive moment of the race.
MS: Yeah, we obviously chose to use the tyres in a certain way and that was
the period when we chose to put new tyres on the car and they gave us some
extra performance plus the circuit got in better shape at that stage and
things just seemed to come together.
Q: And it must have been great to see Felipe in your mirrors during the
opening laps?
MS: As I said we made a great start and being first and second is the ideal
situation at the start of a race and it is a good result at the end of the
day and we can be quite happy about it.
Q: Fernando, very close with Felipe going into the first corner?
FA: Yes, it was close, but I was nearly in the grass at one point so I had
to back off and after I tried to overtake but obviously it’s very difficult
on this track so we would have to wait for the stops. We hoped at that stage
of the race to have perfect consistency in the tyres so we knew that we
should be in front of Felipe and at the end everything was working as
planned.
Q: How much did that first stint limit your performance over the race
distance, the time you may have lost?
FA: Not much. I think in the whole first stint, maybe four or five seconds,
no more than that, so for sure it was not enough to win the race and it
didn’t change too much at the end.
Q: How was the car towards the end of the race?
FA: It was OK. Obviously we put in a lot of fuel at the stops to go quite
long and at the end of the run, the tyres were not in perfect condition
because I used them quite a lot at the beginning of the stints with a heavy
car, but they were still working really nicely. We were two or three tenths
down compared to Michael if we were to win the race, coming from the whole
package, all weekend, not only today but to be second on a difficult weekend
for us is a perfect result and it’s good to finish second with the position
we have in the championship.
Q: Felipe, it looked like a great team performance today. You protected that
second place in the early stages.
Felipe MASSA: Yes, I went into the first corner alongside Fernando. I was a
little bit in front and inside so I knew he had more to do than me so in the
end it was a fair start. Anyway, I think the team did a good job, the car
was very good and unfortunately, I couldn’t keep the position but I’m still
happy to bring points home, especially for the team’s championship but my
championship as well. I’m just getting closer to Giancarlo and Kimi so I
think it was a great weekend for us and hopefully we can maintain this pace.
Q: Michael, seven races to go, the championship still very much to play for
and a great performance from Ferrari and Bridgestone following on from
Indianapolis.
MS: Yeah, absolutely. That’s what we have to look at and hope for from the
coming races, to keep the momentum going. Obviously it’s going to be a
battle in development in all areas but it’s a great result if you see,
particularly this weekend, how difficult at certain moments it has been,
with the problem we had yesterday. At one moment we weren’t certain whether
we could do qualifying or not, but the mechanics really did a superb job and
I’m really thankful to all of these guys, they are really special guys. The
engineers put the car together very well. We made up our set-up out of
guesswork and all the team, in that respect, my engineers, my group, have
worked very well together and I’m really pleased about that.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Michael, a remarkable eighth win here, what is it that’s so special about
here that allows you to win eight times?
MS: Great guys behind me. If you think about the problem I had on Saturday,
to get the car together to do the qualifying, to get pole position, to guess
the set-up from there on, to get the tyres sorted, they did a really great
job.
Q: Were you a little bit surprised that Renault did two stops, particularly
when they stopped at virtually the same time as you first time around?
MS: Yeah, they stopped one lap earlier. I think they had both options and
there was a reason why they chose that option, but I’m not well enough
informed with the information and what was going on to judge that.
Q: These last two races have certainly put your championship back on track
again; what are your feelings about it?
MS: Yup. Keep going like that. If you look at this race… to me Indianapolis
was not really the reference in a way. We were too dominant. Looking at this
race, yes, it is a reference point. We have clearly made up ground and we
have to keep on working at that pace and for sure everybody will just keep
pushing for the last seven races. It’s far from being over.
Q: And Hockenheim is the next one, which you can count as one of your home
Grands Prix.
MS: It doesn’t really matter if it is a home Grand Prix. What matters is how
much your car and package match the circuit and we obviously feel confident
that that can be the case, but then we want to prove it.
Q: Fernando, can you tell us a bit about that strategy; the first stint was
quite short, the second stint was longer, the third stint was longer again.
FA: Yeah. I think we had two options, two possibilities, but after starting
behind the two Ferraris, we guessed, at that point that they were on three
stops and it’s difficult to overtake on this track or nearly impossible so
if we were going to stay on the same strategy we would finish behind them,
but if we did a different strategy, we had the possibility of finishing in
front of them or behind them anyway.
Q: What do you think of this resurgence of Ferrari, a bit surprised by it?
FA: No, no, not at all. I think Indianapolis was a strange race, as Michael
said, from the tyres and the difficulties we had last year. Maybe we were
too conservative or whatever. I think here we were close, but not quick
enough. Same as Nurburgring and Imola but at that point Ferrari seemed to
have more development than anybody else and everybody thought that they
would win all the races and then we won four consecutive races and hopefully
this will happen again from the next race on.
Q: When did you have new tyres in this race?
FA: At the start and at the first stop. After that they were used tyres.
Q: Difficult on used tyres?
FA: No. To be honest there wasn’t a big difference. They were a bit more
difficult because they were longer stints, so a little more difficult but
not a big difference between new and old tyres.
Q: Felipe, you were pushed hard by Fernando in the early stages -- how hard
was it?
FM: Yes, it was quite hard, especially at the start, he got alongside at the
first corner and it was quite tight, but I could manage to stay in position
and then he was pushing a little bit, especially in the first five laps and
then I could manage to improve my pace and to find a gap between us and it
was comfortable to the first stop. Then we decided to stay on three stops
and Fernando went to two stops and he managed to pass him in the strategy,
which was, Well, I would like to have stayed in that position, but anyway I
think it was a good result and just important for the championship.
Q: How was the car today?
FM: It was good. It was a good car. Everything worked good. The tyres – we
were a bit afraid (about) for the race, because of consistency, but we had
the consistency but I think the tyres worked better than we expected
especially as yesterday night it was not raining like it was on Friday night
and I think the track picked up a little more rubber and it helped us for
sure in terms of consistency.
Q: So encouraging for the rest of the season from Bridgestone?
FM: Yeah. Definitely. In terms of the tyres and the car. We are working hard
to improve the car and pretty much you can make a stab in terms of
aerodynamics.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Matthias Brunner – Motorsport Aktuell) Fernando, do you think a
different tyre choice would have changed anything for the race?
FA: No, I don’t think so. I think the two tyres we had here they worked
really well as we expected and tested last week in Jerez and nothing was a
surprise for us and probably the Bridgestone tyre did a really good job as
well and they worked really well because we had two Ferraris and two Toyotas
in the top five so it was not a perfect weekend for us. But with a difficult
weekend we have eight points and we have second place so it is fantastic
news.
Q: (Thierry Vautrat – Sud Ouest) To Fernando, I would like to know, when you
were in front of Michael on his second stint, did you think that would be
enough for you to keep him behind you?
FA: No because I knew I had to stop three laps later and take fuel to the
end and it was a really heavy car and we both had to do one stop after those
laps and he was quicker than me for sure in those laps.
Q: (Juha Paatalo - Financial Times Deutschland ) Could you clarify – did you
have two strategies as options before the race? Or did you change during the
race?
FA: No we have always two options and here especially because it is wide
open between two and three stops and the first stop was similar in both
cases around 17, 18 and 19 and from there we decide and because we start
behind the Ferraris I think it was quite clear and our tyres seemed to be a
little more constant in the long runs and so we chose the two stops.
Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazetta dello Sport) Michael could you tell us
when you use the new set and, Felipe, if I understood, you had also the
option to do two stops?
MS: Last stop and second-last stop.
FM: We had, like Fernando said, both teams have the two options and we
thought that looking at the traffic that if the traffic was not a problem
three stops was a little bit better, but for me it wasn’t really the case. I
took a lot of traffic and I lost very important seconds behind the traffic
and the strategy on three stops was a little bit tight for me but we just
know after the race.
Q: (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) Question for Michael. In lap
number 18, did you realise that you really could win the race because you
didn’t have reference before about tyre performance in long runs?
MS: At that moment, I think I had already eight seconds or something like
that in front of Fernando, if I am correct – and I am not sure, the main
point was in the first laps was how the tyres would go because we had had
some difficulties, but the track came through with us and it was ok. We had
consistent lap times from there on and I was pretty optimistic.
Q: (Juha Paatalo – Financial Times Deutschland) Felipe, yesterday you said
you would try to do everything to help Ferrari in the world championship and
the race proved that you couldn’t do it today. How unhappy are you about
that and secondly do you think there was a chance to finish second in this
race?
FM: I think that to finish third helped the team so Michael make two points
in front of Fernando and I made few points in front of Giancarlo and that is
helping the team I guess. That’s important and for sure I was trying to keep
my position and it was not possible today. I had a lot of traffic and I lost
time and Fernando was very consistent on his tyres especially on two stops
and on his second stint and he could make a little gap to stay in the front.
I don’t agree with you that I am not helping the team. I think we have taken
away some points and it is a big help for the championship.
Q: (Juha Paatalo – Financial Times Deutschland) But I mean mathematically if
you calculate it is not enough if Michael is always first and Fernando is
second.
FM: But we still have seven races and the mathematics is important at the
end of the championships, not now. Everything is important, race by race,
but we still have seven races and we try to do our best to be at the front
of the championship at the end. I pushed as hard as I could to stay in
second position but it was not possible, but it was important for me and for
the team.
Q: (Carlos Miquel Gomez – Diario As) Fernando, was Massa correct in the
first corner?
FA: Yes, I think so. We always try to keep our positions and always the
start here at Magny-Cours is very difficult because the first corner is
really quick and on the left, flat-out and then a very quick corner on the
right and I think it was quite normal what happened there. Massa had nothing
to lose, his Ferrari drivers had to back off for sure.
Q: (Philippe Joubin – L’Equipe) A question for Fernando – yesterday after
qualifying you seemed very confident. Why were you so confident to fight for
victory?
FA: Well, we were confident because we did our maximum in qualifying and
there were no mistakes and nothing went wrong and if we finished third we
believed it was because for one lap performance our tyres were not quick
enough and maybe this paid out in the race with a more consistent tyre and
it was what we thought yesterday and I still think our tyres were a little
bit more constant than the Ferraris but they were probably not quick enough
to beat them.
Q: (Serhan Acar – CNN Turkey) A question for Michael – now you have 160
podiums and 88 wins if I am right. How far do you think you can go? Is 100
wins possible for you?
MS: Find out. |
