Q & A with Michael Schumacher

Michael Schumacher: It's true. After the tests I believe it was pretty obvious that we would be very strong and here now we look the way we finished the test. We have a very good package. In Barcelona it's very important to have a very good car and our engineers have worked very hard for that and our drivers have performed to the maximum.

Q. You have been criticised by Jean Todt for racing with bikes. What do you have to say about that?

MS: First of all, I'm glad I have friends like Jean who tell me about the implications of what I'm doing. My friends make me aware of what I'm doing and I'm happy about this. Obviously I'm old enough to sort of judge what I want to do and what I don't want to do. It is part of my passion. It's what I like to do so I'm enjoying what I'm doing right now.

Q. Why are you at this race?

MS: Obviously the first races being so far away I really didn't feel like traveling so much and I prefered to stay home. This is close, and I've been here during the test so it is natural as well to be here and sort of see what's going on and judge our situation.

Q. How do you see the championship this year?

MS: I think this year's championship is very exciting. Watching yesterday and this morning it's so close, even in qualifying. I saw eight or nine cars within one tenth. It's so exciting for all of us, including myself, to watch what's going on. I'm still part of it. I'm involved, maybe not so much for you to see that, but from my side I do enough to not really miss it.

Q. What pleasure does a driver get when using slick tyres?

MS: I think when you give anything that makes a driver go quicker he's a big fan. I think none of us have tested the way the car is supposed to be in the future. We can only make a rough estimation because nobody has a 2009 package, and the idea obviously is not to make Formula One faster, but to shift between aerodynamical grip and mechanical grip.

Nevertheless it's more fun to drive with mechanical grip compared with aero grip due to the fact that it feels more consistent, you can follow closer to other cars. So overtaking is going to be more of a possibility. All this makes it slightly different and more exciting, although we have to wait until we have the final cars.

Q. Would you consider taking a wild car entry in MotoGP in the future?

MS: No, certainly not. If you see what I'm doing, it's just fun things. MotoGP is business, and to be there and be completely lost and see nobody.. There wouldn't be a point and it would be a discredit for the guys who run in that kind of category. I just want to enjoy myself.

Q. Do you have plans for a film about your life?

MS: We have had some requests in this direction to film my career, but I'm probably too busy and too active to find time for this. So right now it's not something I wish to do.

Q. What do you think will happen with the FIA scandal?

MS: I think I know as much as you. I don't know what is the situation or what will happen. The point is I know Max as a professional person and I really rate him very highly. I always thought about myself that I didn't want people to comment about my private life, so there's no reason to get into other people's private life.

Q. Without judging other people, are you not concerned about the image of Formula One outside the paddock?

MS: I think I said what I really wanted to say about this subject and I don't have anything to add.

Q. Your son took part in his first race last week..

MS: That's another subject that.. When I was young nobody knew who I was and nobody cared what I was doing. My son is nine years old now and my daughter is 11 and they are right now in their childhood and I really wish they could live their childhood in the way that I was able to experience it, without any public attention.

I really don't want to put my son into this world of media because he is not part of it. He is doing many things, he plays soccer, he rides horses, he plays ice hockey, he does go-karts, so I just want him to let him live this opportunity just like I was, so I don't want to enter a discussion about my son.