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DRIVERS:
Fernando ALONSO (Renault), Rubens BARRICHELLO (Honda), Felipe MASSA
(Ferrari), Tiago MONTEIRO (Spyker MF1), Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (McLaren Mercedes)
Q: Tiago, being in a Portuguese-speaking country, is this a bit like a home
race for you?
Tiago MONTEIRO: It’s obviously very important, especially as my mum is
Brazilian, so I have a little Brazilian blood as well. We’ve got family
here, we’ve got lots of friends and fans and the same language, so it’s very
very important. And as well, I’ve got some sponsors, I have big interests in
Brazil, so it’s almost like a home race, yeah.
Q: Now recently there have been some changes within the team, obviously a
change of ownership; has that impacted on the spirit within the team?
TM: Apart from the fact that you don’t know which shirt to use any more, the
changing of the shirts, no. But there is a big impact in the fact that
everybody feels the motivation of the new owners so much that it’s almost
like a new season has started already for us and you can feel within the
mechanics and engineers that everyone is so much more motivated now and
feeling more confident, especially with all the new things that are coming
for next year as well. I think it was very good and definitely a mental
boost for the whole team. I hope we will see this on the track soon.
Q: And the big question is will you be with the team next year?
TM: It’s looking very good, yes. It’s not signed so we cannot say anything
yet, but it’s a matter of details now.
Q: So when will we know?
TM: Soon. Very soon.
Q: Rubens, a year ago you were a Ferrari driver, this year a Honda driver.
What difference has that made, how has life changed for you over the last
year?
Rubens BARRICHELLO: I think not much in the way that for the Brazilian Grand
Prix I behave just the same. We’ve had so many commitments to do and it was
just the same. Obviously I don’t come here having a car that I know I can
win with, so that means a little bit less pressure, but that’s less happy. I
would like to have that pressure back and have the car to win. I think that
the car that I’ve got now is definitely better than in previous years to
Ferrari, so it’s not that it cannot happen but it’s obviously a slim chance.
Q: Two poles, a third and a fourth; those are your best results, it’s a
little bit slim to better that, is it?
RB: I think everything is really possible, and because we have that
situation saying that, it’s a smaller chance. It’s slim, but it means less
pressure, so you just get on with it and do it, so I’m not under pressure,
just relaxed. I will just go and drive my best. I don’t know what the
weather is going to do. It’s going to be very difficult to choose a tyre
here because we really don’t know. I spoke to the team last week and they
said ‘how is the weather there?’ and I said I have no idea, because one day
it can be thirty degrees and the next day it can be fifteen, so the tyre
choice is going to be really the main factor this weekend.
Q: Obviously you have been team-mates with Michael for many years, what are
your thoughts looking at the championship battles?
RB: Yeah, I thought that when the championship started it looked like
Renault would win very easily and the way things were going, they were doing
very well. There were some occasions when Ferrari went up and down but they
were there and scoring points and so on, but for me there was no way they
could get up to Fernando. But all of a sudden they did, they scored higher
points and Michael was winning races and in Japan, you would have said there
was no way to hold him back and he’s going to go to Sao Paulo with the best
chance and look what happened there. Now I don’t know. If it really happens
that (they score) ten points for Michael and zero for Alonso, I think this
is something that never happened in Formula One, so I think it’s quite
impossible, maybe one percent away from impossible.
Q: Felipe, same question for you. How has life changed over the last year
now that you’re a Ferrari driver?
Felipe MASSA: It definitely changed a lot. When you become a Ferrari driver,
you are really much more in the media, under pressure, so I think that’s
normal. All of the drivers who became Ferrari drivers made a big change in
terms of visibility, but I think that’s nice, it means you’re doing a good
job and I’m quite happy with my championship anyway, and quite happy to be
part of the Ferrari family.
Q: More pressure for you this weekend?
FM: No, no. The pressure is on this guy on my left (Alonso), so no problem.
And on Michael as well.
Q: How do you see your role this weekend?
FM: Well, I will try to do the best I can during the race. It’s definitely a
dream for me to be here and having a competitive car, so I’m going to do my
best to do a good qualifying and try to do the best I can during the race
and help the team, even if it has become a little bit more difficult, it’s
still possible to win the championship and we are going to do the best we
can to help the team as well.
Q: What’s the atmosphere like within the team?
FM: The atmosphere is fine, so for sure after the last race, which was a
little bit disappointing for us - the result - but in the same direction,
this is motor racing. It can happen and we just need to be focused on this
race and try to do the best we can. We did our best in the last race as
well, but unfortunately we were not very lucky, especially Michael, but
that’s motor racing.
Q: Are there engine worries within the team?
FM: No, no because what happened was definitely not supposed to happen, so
it was really unexpected, nobody expected that. It just happened. We never
had this kind of a problem during the testing, during the year, so it just
happened, but we are not worried for this race, in terms of the engine.
Q: Fernando, a year ago you had a similar situation when you came here. Is
there more pressure this time or less?
Fernando ALONSO: I think the same. Always when you have the chance to become
champion, you always have the pressure, the motivation and the dream is
close to being realised again. Last year, for sure, I had three
opportunities: here, China and Japan and this year it’s only the last race,
and for sure, you cannot lose this opportunity as I was able to lose the
opportunity last year. So maximum concentration. I think the team is ready
for this last battle. I am ready as well and we arrive in a good position
thanks to the Japanese result and we try to do our best and do the final
part of the job.
Q: In a way you can be quite cautious because you only need one point for
the Drivers’ Championship, but at the same time you need a few more than
that for the Manufacturers’ Championship.
FA: Yes, but to be honest for me the important thing is the Drivers’
championship, not only for me, for everybody. We see all the publicity on
the motorways, everywhere from China onwards. I think we only see Michael’s
and Alonso’s face on the pictures. You don’t see the logo of Ferrari and
Renault. I think the people remember which driver is the champion and which
car he drove. I don’t think anyone remembers ten years ago who was the
Constructors’ champion. For sure it’s an important championship but I think
the team and myself know which one is more important and try to win this
Drivers’ Championship first and for sure, if we can help the team to become
Constructors’ champions, it’s good for next year, for the money, for the
position and for the brand, but we will see.
Q: You have been quoted as saying you want to stay out of fights, out of
confrontation. Is that the case?
FA: No, I try to always be out of everything but for sure, sometimes it is
difficult when you are always on the top and everybody is looking at you,
what you do, and what you don’t do. For this week, we did our job, testing
at Silverstone with Piquet. We prepared the car, I prepared myself
physically. For sure it was a difficult week because the most difficult
thing was to train, to go on the mountain bike, to do the normal training
with caution because I didn’t want to injure myself, so it was quite a
relaxed weekend/week, and I tried to arrive here with maximum concentration
because we must make no mistakes this weekend.
Q: Kimi, you come to this race with one the best records – twice second over
the last couple of years – and so what are your feelings about the
championship battle and this race?
Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: We try to do our best here of course, but it is very
difficult to say right now how it is going to be, but in the last couple of
years, the car has been pretty good here so hopefully it will be the same
case this year and we can achieve a good result for the last race
Q: Is it a circuit that you enjoy?
KR: Yes, it is a nice circuit. It is different, it is bit bumpy and it is
different. We go anti-clockwise, but it is actually very nice to drive.
Q: And it is your last race for McLaren Mercedes. How do you feel about
that?
KR: It is the last race, but then it was coming at some point. It is one way
a sad thing for nice people and good friends and so on, but then I made my
decision to move and I am happy where I am going and I am excited about next
year and hopefully can go far.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Carlos Miquel – Diario AS) Fernando, are you afraid about a lack of fair
play in Sunday’s race?
FA: No, I have no worries at all. I think all the drivers in the last race
want to do a good result because the motivation is not the same as for the
first race. It is the last race and everyone wants to do a good result to
prepare (for) the winter and so on and I think it will be a completely
normal race.
Q: (Frédéric Ferret – L’Equipe) Fernando, what will be your best memory of
this year and your worst memory of this year?
FA: Best memory was Barcelona to win my home grand prix, but also it was
great to win for the first time in Monaco, first time in Silverstone and
Suzuka, all big places in Formula One, and the worst memory is all the
things that happened with the penalties I had this year.
Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Fernando, you use a
different spec of engine to Giancarlo. Does this mean your strategy will be
more conservative than his?
FA: No, it should be the same. I think in terms of engine, we have a
different specification, using the normal engines we have been running in
the last races in my car and a little evolution with Giancarlo, but in terms
of performance there should not be any big difference, not even one-tenth,
much less, and so I don’t think any difference in timed laps or in strategy,
not at all. We need a normal race with both cars as we did in the last part
of the year and try to have both cars on the podium. We were in China second
and third and in Japan first and third so try to repeat that result here and
both be on the podium.
Q: (Frédéric Ferret – L’Equipe) Fernando, last year you were not world
champion. This year you are. Did this help you to fight for your second
title?
FA: I don’t know. Sometimes yes. I think to find the right effort, to
continue and find the right motivation and I know how to do it and I know
how I enjoyed last year winning and how to repeat and how to defend number
one on my car and try to do the best for the sport and for the team. Maybe
the experience you have in one important year, like you have with your first
championship, this you never forget and you use in the rest of your career
for sure.
Q: (Frédéric Ferret – L’Equipe) How do you compare this year’s battle with
last year’s with Kimi?
FA: Completely different. I think this year was with the same advantage in
the first part of the season around 20 to 25 points and we kept it last year
a little bit thanks to the mechanical problems that McLaren had because when
normal races happened the McLaren was quicker than us and it was impossible
to fight with them and sometimes they had problems and we got the advantage
back again. This year with Ferrari, sometimes we can fight with them and we
can win and we can lose, but for sure I had a much better feeling last year
about the championship, the sport and about everything.
Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Fernando, what do you expect from McLaren
next year?
FA: Well, it is difficult to say. I want to answer quickly because I ask
myself the same question and we need to see what happens next year, I think
every year is different. We saw in 2004 the McLaren was down finishing fifth
in the Constructors Championship but in 2005 they were the best on the track
and in 2006 also some problems, so I hope that in 2007 they go back with the
best car. But for sure new cars, new rules every year and next year the same
tyres. We’ll see how everyone adapts to the Bridgestone tyres. I know
McLaren will give all effort to be champion again, at the top, and I know I
will put in all my effort as well, so hopefully together we can have a good
championship but it will be difficult to know until the first races because
also the winner will not be representative.
Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Fernando, are you and Kimi
pushing your teams to allow you to do your first tests with your new teams?
FA: I am not pushing anyone because I am trying to finish this championship
first of all and on Monday we start doing something for next for sure to try
to see if I can test one day before the end of the year, it is something and
a little help, but if nothing happens until you have the new car, the 2007
cars on the track, in January, for sure for all the teams it is not a big
drama if you don’t test.
KR: It is very difficult to do anything right now, we are still in this
season, but I have all my faith in the team, for sure they know what they
are doing and they will push as hard as they can. They will be testing in
the winter and Felipe will be driving, so anything that is new will be done.
January will be enough time for me to get ready for the season.
Q: (Carlos Miquel – Diario AS) Fernando do you have any special amulet for
this race?
FA: Nothing (raises finger to sky).
Q: (Erica Akie – Jornal da Tarde) I want to know if Brazil is becoming a
special place for you?
FA: Yes, it will become special for sure if this Sunday I win and win two
titles in Brazil it will be special and if I lose the championship it will
be special as well because it will be a very bad memory because with 10
points if you lose the championship in the last race it will be difficult to
forget anyway. |
