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DRIVERS:
Fernando ALONSO (RENAULT), Jenson BUTTON (HONDA), Takuma SATO (SUPER AGURI),
Jarno TRULLI (TOYOTA), Sakon YAMAMOTO (SUPER AGURI)
Q: Sakon, I’m sure it was a relief to finally finish your first Grand Prix
last weekend; what’s been going wrong up until now?
Sakon YAMAMOTO: Well, it has certainly been difficult for me, and for
everyone in the team, but our team members worked really well, so finally I
could finish a race and it meant a lot to me.
Q: You came into Formula One halfway through the season; have you found it
difficult?
SY: Well, it was difficult for me to find out about the level of Formula
One, especially the technology and the people, but I can really enjoy that.
Q: You’re becoming a little bit more comfortable with that now.
SY: Yeah, for sure, yeah. I always try to do my best and I’m getting better
step by step.
Q: Takuma, you’ve had some great performances here; what are your feelings
coming here to your home race and particularly the last Grand Prix here for
a while?
Takuma SATO: Yeah, I think I enjoy the driving, the challenge of coming
here. It’s always a challenge coming here. It’s very demanding for the
drivers, the cars and the teams so we all love Suzuka. We’ve heard the story
that the Japanese Grand Prix will move over. It’s obviously sad, but taking
the positive side, it’s obvious that this year will be enormously
enthusiastic for everybody coming here, so I’m really looking forward to it.
Q: Is it very tough on you as the focus of so many Japanese fans?
TS: Yes, we will, hopefully, be the main focus for this weekend, but to be
honest, let’s talk about the whole season. For us it’s been a tremendous
challenge this year and to be at the back of the grid all the time, it is
very very difficult to motivate everybody, but I think we have achieved
everything we wanted and that’s why I have really enjoyed every part of it.
So coming here, especially after Shanghai where we had a really strong race,
and I think it was absolutely a team effort to battle with other teams at
the same level and to beat our nearest rivals in a straight fight. That
gives us really good motivation and great momentum to come to Suzuka.
Q: What was your view of the incident on the last lap at the hairpin in
Shanghai?
TS: Well, I don’t think I did a wrong thing. The facts were that three laps
before I let Nick past because he obviously caught me up in the normal way
and I let him go. But obviously after we had the rain and under those
circumstances I was quicker and I caught him and then he simply ran wide
into turn one and I overtook him. Afterwards, I saw that we had very similar
pace and there was a blue flag situation. So then we went into the last
corner, unfortunately six cars just all coming together. That was a really
unfortunate moment, but I do really strongly think I did everything right.
Q: Jarno, a best of fifth here, what do you feel about this circuit, this
race?
Jarno TRULLI: Well, obviously Suzuka is a very nice challenging circuit. I
like it very much. It’s our home race for Toyota so we expect to be
challenging strongly, and I hope to do a good weekend.
Q: But the last few races haven’t been fantastic for you, however.
JT: Monza, wasn’t too bad but obviously I made a mistake over the tyre
choice in Turkey and the last Grand Prix was a bit unfortunate for both
drivers because the weekend started wrongly from qualifying when we had a
red flag at the wrong moment, otherwise we would both have been in quite
easily. From that time on, it was very difficult to recover from the back,
because we were stuck behind Coulthard all the time, all the race and then
when we gambled on dry tyres, that was obviously a big risk. We took it but
it didn’t work.
Q: So you feel that you should have been in the points.
JT: We cannot really judge the last race. In Monza I finished seventh. We
were very competitive in Turkey. Ralf’s tyre choice was good and he was very
competitive, so in the end I believe that the team has got good potential
but sometimes we don’t use the full potential during the weekend because we
still have to manage to get the right choice.
Q: Fernando, 16th to third last year; that was pretty good wasn’t it?
Fernando ALONSO; Yeah, it was good, I think it was good for everybody. There
were two or three quick cars starting from the back because of the
qualifying in wet conditions and the race was very interesting with a lot of
overtaking manoeuvres, I remember, and it was good, but I prefer to start at
the front and not have to recover so many places.
Q: It could be wet again according to the weather forecasts; what are your
feelings about that?
FA: It’s not a problem for us. I really think it doesn’t matter what weather
conditions we have this weekend. I think we are competitive in wet, we are
competitive in dry. I prefer dry conditions for the race, because it’s
better for the people here, for the grandstand, for us as well, a more
normal race. In wet conditions we always see so many different things
happening in the race, up and down, so probably a dry race would be better
for everybody.
Q: Because it’s a bit more predictable for the drivers in that way?
FA: Yeah, for the teams, for the strategies, for everything. I think
normally in dry conditions, we have more normal races. In wet conditions it
can be very good, it can be very bad.
Q: Jenson, a year ago your Honda future was confirmed; looking back, what
were your hopes then, have they been fulfilled?
Jenson BUTTON: For sure not. We came into this season wanting to challenge
for a win at every race and that hasn’t been the case, but we have had our
first win as a team, which is fantastic. The thing that we know we have to
work on is to have that at every race we go to, but we are working as hard
as we possibly can, to improve the car in certain areas. For sure the new
wind tunnel has helped us massively. It’s obviously helped us a little bit
this year, our improvements, our race performance improved a lot when we
arrived in Hockenheim and since then we’ve been reasonably competitive, but
I think it’s for next year that the wind tunnel is going to make a bigger
difference. The way things are going, I’m very very happy with the situation
and not just for next year but for the future.
Q: You’ve had good results here, so what are your feelings about the race?
JB: I think I’ve raced here six times and every time I’ve been in the top…
I’ve scored points so hopefully we’re going to have a good race. If it’s wet
it throws everything up in the air and we might be in the right place at the
right time. I think strategy-wise we’re very good. I think we do get the
best out of what we have. At the moment we don’t have the best car but I
think we’re doing a very good job with what we do have and if it’s wet, we
have a chance of challenging at the front. If it’s dry, it’s a lot more
difficult but I think that we need to think that we’re going to be fighting
for a podium. I think that’s got to be the aim.
Q: So in that way, you’d prefer wet in a way?
JB: Yeah, I would. In Shanghai it didn’t really work out for me. I had a few
issues with damaging the tyres but yeah, the car works well in the wet and I
think we can have a good result.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Heinz Prüller – Kronen Zeitung) Fernando, can I ask you about the first
pit stop in China? I hear all kinds of stories: your radio did not work in
the car, you could not see the tyre from the car and there was a
misunderstanding in the pit stop over changing the front tyres or not. Can
you explain what happened, please?
FA: Yeah, I said already in China it was not a misunderstanding. I think
everything was clear. The tyres from the car, and from TV, the left front
looks OK, but a lot of wear, obviously. Nearly a slick. And because the
second stint was 22 or 23 laps long we thought that maybe it was risky to
leave that tyre on and maybe to wear it too much and so we decided to change
the front tyres. The first couple of laps are always difficult, you have to
scrub them and to get them into condition but this time we took nine or ten
laps to clean up the front tyres and I lost all the advantage but it was
just for safety reasons. Afterwards, looking at the tyre, maybe it was OK,
like Giancarlo and Michael, they kept on their tyres and they worked fine.
Probably in my case it would have been exactly same but it’s only after the
race (that you can be sure). At that moment, with 20 seconds gap, it was no
risk to put a new tyre on and lose a couple of seconds just for safety.
Q: Fernando, apart from the tyre issue, there were a lot of rumours this
week about your bad mood; you were quoted as criticising the team, accusing
them of boycotting you and I read too that you were angry with Fisichella
because he couldn’t help you in a proper way. May I have some clarification
about that?
FA: No, not a problem at all with anybody. I think all the rumours I think…
Also there is a funny story from Germany that Fisichella was going to
Michael’s party after the race and Fisichella was there and I was angry with
him and the team. There are always rumours that they try to put there but
there is nothing true. What I felt there is that maybe I had a problem with
the car that was a specific problem for ten laps, nine, eight or whatever,
and probably I felt alone, for sure. I was first and my team mate was second
and they came to me, they overtook me and they were gone. And after, when I
recovered the pace, they were too far (ahead), and for sure it is like you
are in the Tour de France in the mountains, climbing, you have a puncture or
whatever and your team and your rival has gone uphill with no stops. That
was a little bit difficult to understand.
Q: (Peter Windsor – Speed Channel) Another question to Fernando: obviously
these races are back-to-back and you’ve just described a relatively
difficult Grand Prix. Can you just give an idea of what it’s like for you in
terms of switching off from China and switching on to the next race, and
indeed, what you’ve been doing the last couple of days, and how you’re
handling that situation?
FA: Well, the last days I was in Shanghai until yesterday, just training and
relaxing and switching off. Switching on is quite straightforward I think.
There is nothing to think in the last race. The same thing happened to me in
Monza, after a frustrating Grand Prix, whereas after China, we were in pole
position, we did a perfect race apart from these ten laps: quickest in the
dry, quickest in the wet so it was not difficult to switch on again to be
fighting for the approach to the Grand Prix again. Here is the same thing.
We switch on tomorrow in free practice and we stay concentrated all Grand
Prix. We need to beat the Ferraris now, here and in Brazil, and I think we
can do it. We have a perfect car now, perfect tyres, Michelin is giving us a
fantastic tyre for both dry and wet conditions so we should be able to do
it.
Q: (Philippe Joubin – L’Equipe) Fernando, did you feel that haven’t got the
full support from everyone in your team, in the battle for the titles?
FA: I think it’s a difficult question. I think the team does the maximum
they can. They are giving me a fantastic car, winning last year’s
championship and fighting this year, and what the team does every race is
unbelievable and thanks to that, we are equal in the Drivers’ and ahead in
the Constructors’, so for sure the team is giving us a fantastic car for
Giancarlo and me, but for sure, on some occasions, in a different view and a
different approach, I felt a little bit alone.
Q: (Yuuki Ishihara – Tokyo Sankei Sports) Fernando, your biggest competitor
is going to retire at the end of the season, which is only two weeks away.
How would you like to fight him?
FA: We try to have a good fight on the circuit and have a lot of respect for
each other and Michael has been the driver with more titles, more wins and
more pole positions and (he is) a legend in Formula One. So, it is good for
me to fight with him in the last two races of his career and, you know, as
we were doing all year, all season long, it was fantastic, and to arrive
equal for the last two Grands Prix it is good for everybody, good for the
championship and for the people and for us, as well, because the value and
satisfaction for the winner of the last two races will be even bigger.
Q: (Jon McEvoy – The Daily Mail) Fernando, you said you felt a little bit
alone – in what way?
FA: Well, you know, I had two difficult moments this year, one in
Indianapolis, where I was not competitive, and one in China, where for 10
laps I was completely off the pace and losing four seconds a lap and, you
know, these two moments, maybe, in my opinion, in team play, maybe, I should
have had more help.
Q: (Jon McEvoy – The Daily Mail) How could they have helped you?
FA: I don’t know. I don’t know. I fight with Fisichella in the last corner,
Turn 14, once and he overtook me and I overtook him again because he went a
little bit longer and these things, these risky moments … Three races to win
the championship… your team mate is a little bit … (It’s) not good enough, I
think.
Q: (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) We read on the internet in the
last few days that Jean Todt said that he realised what are the rules of the
game when Fisichella pulled the car side by side with you and Michael could
not overtake you and him. And he said maybe it is not a normal manoeuvre.
What do you think about it?
FA: I think he did in this lap good enough because I don’t know what he
means – Fisichella tried to overtake me and the cars (being) side by side on
the straight was to overtake me, so there was not any team play – even the
opposite.
Q: (Ed Gorman – The Times) Fernando, do you still believer that there are
people within the Renault Formula One team who don’t want you to win the
drivers’ championship?
FA: All the team, all the people, are really focussed for the championship
and anyway we have been leading both championships all season nearly and now
the last two races all the people is motivated and the atmosphere inside the
team is just super and it’s the last two races of me in the team as well and
every single person in the team is just focussed on the championship.
Q: (Ed Gorman – The Times) But you did say, or appeared to say, exactly that
in China – that there were people in the team who you believed did not want
you to win the drivers’ championship, but that they do want to win the
Constructors’…
FA: No, not… For sure, for the team, (it) is more important the
constructors, but they want to win them both. For sure…
Q: (Kevin Garside – The Daily Telegraph) Fernando, you said that on two
occasions you were fighting your team-mate when perhaps it might have been
better not to… Have you made this clear to the team? And are you convinced
that it won’t happen again?
FA: Not really. I think the approach for the race is always to try to win
the races and it is all the teams are here for – and, sometimes, if you have
a problem, the teams normally try with other drivers to win the race because
it is what we are here for... But, as I said, sometimes if you are fighting
so close for the championship the frustration is bigger…
Q: (Dan Knutson – National Speedsport News) Jenson, this is one of the
world’s great tracks. From a driver’s point of view, what do you need for a
fast lap and from a set-up point of view, what are the challenges?
JB: Well, it is a very technical circuit, especially through turn two to
eight and we don’t know what it is going to be like in a V8 because
obviously we don’t have as much torque now but those corners are just crazy
and it is non-stop. You need mentally to be pretty strong. They come up on
you so fast. I think personally you need to be very precise and if you make
one mistake through that complex you lose a lot of time. So being precise is
very important and you do need a good car under you and trying to set up a
car round here is tough. And you don’t get so many laps in practice and it’s
quite difficult especially if it is going to be wet conditions Friday and
Saturday. It does make it very difficult. Not just for us, but for everyone.
Q: (Dan Knutson – National Speedsport News) And of all your races here, what
has been your best memory?
JB: On the podium, here, in 2004. There is a massive following here for
Honda. And it was a very special moment. But this will be my best moment of
my career here racing at Suzuka anyway until we come back here, hopefully,
because it is the last time and you know I love this place. Its Honda’s home
circuit and I am very disappointed to see it go. The racing here over the
last few years has been fantastic and it is one of my favourite circuits
along with probably Spa.
Q: (Heinz Prüller – Kronen Zeitung) After overtaking Schumacher twice on the
outside last year, would you rate the R130 as the most difficult,
challenging corner in Formula One?
FA: Not any more. With the V10 last year, it was flat-out last time for some
laps and with theV8 it will be flat out and not a corner anymore so this
year it will be a lot easier.
Q: (Sal Zanka – AP) Fernando, you and Michael have said many times that it
will come down to tyres. Do you think it is fair that the driver’s world
championship is determined by a technician working with rubber?
FA: I think this is Formula One and it is a lot more than that. Yes, we say
that because the difference that the tyre makes to the car is bigger than
anything else that you can change and for sure now with the cars at their
maximum level of development and maximum performance, the two or
three-tenths that you can find in the tyres one weekend can make you win or
lose and I think that is what we mean when we say that – that we are
dominated by tyres, the key factor of the championship now in the last
races, but from the beginning of the season the championship is very long
and you have to take a more general view of the championship – 18 races you
need to be constantly on the podium and you need to perform well all through
the season and it Is not only a tyre factor and I think it is fair because
Formula One is technology and everything motor sport so you to be now in
Michelin or Bridgestone hands is also quite normal.
Q: (Niki Takeda – Formula PA) Any thoughts on the last Suzuka, for all
except Jenson?
TS: I mentioned it at the beginning of this session. It’s great for all of
us to have great racing here especially the fans who are waiting for this
last race, but not only that but also the championship, but the championship
is very interesting now. For us, it will be a tough one, but I think we are
ready to take a charge, but we have a very good feeling mentally and
physically and I am really ready. So I want to be focussed and to enjoy this
year the enthusiasm from the fans and hopefully we can do our best race of
the season so far.
SY: It was at Suzuka that I watched Formula One for the first time and I
also I started go-karting from this circuit and formula car too so for me
this circuit is for me like a mother circuit and so I really want to do my
best and I am really looking forward to driving in front of lots of Japanese
fans.
JT: It has been a pleasure to come to Suzuka for so many years I have really
enjoyed it and I hope to enjoy again a good race this season and then we
move on to Fuji and we will see next year. I hope we can have a lot of fun
there and the public will be as many as we have here.
FA: The same for me - it has been a fantastic feeling and a pleasure to be
in Suzuka because it is one of the most difficult circuits in the world and
it is a super-challenge circuit not only for the drivers, but the engineers,
the tyres, engine and for sure we will miss this kind of track, especially
Suzuka, but new circuits will come in and for sure a new good as well.
Q: (James Allen – ITV) Jarno both cars have got new engines here – is there
anything special in this engine?
JT: Yes I have changed the engine for this race and it is a little step
forward. Just a few things that we hope will improve reliability.
Q: (Felipe Motta – Radio Panamericana) Fernando, considering that China is
not like Monaco and Hungary and there are a lot of overtaking points, do you
believe that in that moment Giancarlo could have held Schumacher behind you?
FA: I don’t know. I don’t want to be in any polemic with this thing. I only
said my opinion and my feeling and completely understand the position of the
team of how the race went. I am happy I am second place and you know I lost
the race because my pace was not good enough in ten laps, but a part of this
you know I have a different feeling maybe inside.
Q; (Ed Gorman – The Times) If Michael wins here, and you don’t finish, it’s
all over. Is that going to affect the way you approach this race?
JB: You’re really helping the guy’s confidence here. He is fighting for the
world championship…
FA: No, not at all. I think we have to risk, we need to approach the race
thinking of the maximum performance and take the maximum from the car and if
arrives this unfortunate moment that you don’t finish for sure try to don’t
make Michael win because the championship is over, but anyway if I don’t
finish here or in Brazil, the championship will be over anyway. So we need
to finish both races and both in front of Michael and this is what we have
to do. It is not easy, but it is not impossible.
Q: (Yuuki Ishihara – Tokyo Sankei Sports) I have a question for Fernando
again – you just said Suzuka is fantastic, but you have raced here four
times and never won. Do you think there is a reason for that?
FA: Well, 2004 I did wet qualifying and I start 12th and 2005 I had a wet
qualifying again, like the last four cars on the grid, and I start 16th and
for sure the lack of qualifying and always starting from 10th or over is not
a help here at Suzuka so hopefully with a normal qualifying here this year
and a competitive car I can try to win and I know the statistics (for me)
are not good here in Suzuka, but I try to change it this time. |
