Cristiano da Matta Q&A

"It's exactly like a CART race! The paddock is open and people are walking everywhere. It's nice. I wish I could do more driving, but there's a lot of waiting for too little driving."



"I had seen in on TV many times, because in Brazil they always have the highlights."



"The guy I saw again which was a great pleasure for me was Gordon Coppuck. I worked with him in my first year and my second year in CART, and it's been a long time since I've seen him. It's fun to go around and see all the cars, like Nelson Piquet's Brabham from 1983, and a couple of Ayrton Senna's cars, the Lotus and the McLaren from 1993. So it's quite nice to see these cars which I always used to see on the TV."



"To go and watch all the cars I wanted to see - like Rod Millen's pick-up truck - was difficult. But today I learned and I came without the team uniform, so it's a lot easier! I lived here in England, and I know how mad everybody is about racing. It's a surprise, but not such a big surprise. I raced at Rockingham in 2001 and 2002, but the last time I was at Silverstone for the F3000 in 1996. It was actually my best qualifying."



"Yes. I had a good test at Silverstone right after the Monaco race. We have some new bits that Olivier tested in Barcelona last week that seem to be working fine. Also I think it's the type of track that sorts our type of car. I'm coming from a bad race in Magny-Cours, so I'm hoping it's better."



"I think so. We did a good test there, and it's more of a flowing type of track, not so much of a stop and go place."



"I think so. I think one of the things that gives us the advantage is the heat, so as long as it's hot, we might have an advantage. Thing improve every day, so I don't know if Bridgestone will come up with something new, but I hope not."