Friday's Press Conference - US GP

Participating: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), Eddie Irvine (Jaguar), Gerhard Berger (BMW), Flavio Briatore (Beneton), Eddie Jordan (Jordan) and Frank Williams (Williams).

Q: Back row, right to left: Eddie Irvine, Flavio Briatore and Michael Schumacher. Front row: Gerhard Berger, Eddie Jordan and Frank Williams. Greetings. First of all, shall we start with Eddie Irvine? Eddie, you've had a new change in management at Jaguar, have you noticed any changes?

Eddie IRVINE:

I think Nicky has got a lot of experience in Formula One. He's been at Ferrari for years, he's been in McLaren. I think he's seen how it's done. So I think that helps us because he knows where we are and he knows where we've got to get to. If you at least know where the goal posts are, it makes it easier.

Q: Have there been changes? I mean, have you noticed changes?

EI:

It's not a flick of a switch, you know. But he has said things that he thinks need working on and I sort of agree with him, to be honest. So that's positive.

Q: Now, you've mentioned yourself a problem in qualifying. What's been going wrong? What can you say?

EI:

This is sometimes - like I've been in the T car twice, I've had problems. I had yellow flags and red flags, to be honest, the last two races and the T car before that. But, obviously, it's still something you've got to look at yourself and continuously monitor. That's all I can do, keep pushing and try to figure out what's going on. You know, last year I qualified consistently in the top ten; this year I'm really struggling to get anywhere near it, to be honest. So I need to figure out whether it's the car, whether it's my approach or what it is. You know, it's just a series of incidents that have gone against me.

Q: Okay, thanks. Flavio, what's the aim of the team in the last two races? Can you tell us what they're intending to do, what are their hopes?

Flavio BRIATORE:

We try doing better.

Q: Sorry?

FB:

The last two races we try doing better. And the car is much better and the engine is improving and we are quite happy like was our program in the beginning of the season to start with the new engine completely. Our goal was to be competitive in the end of the season, preparing for ourself for Renault 2002. This was our plan and looks like the situation is much better. I hope this race and Japan we're looking stronger than before.

Q: Now, what are the chances of there being a truly Button team at Renault next year, particularly as they seem to come together rather a lot. (Laughter)

FB:

Yeah, I think so. Basically, some accident racing involved Jarno and Jenson. But I believe it is nothing personal between the two drivers. And this is the team we have for next year and hope at the time in the same team less accident together at least.

Q: Thanks, Flavio. Michael, a difficult race, the last one. How have you built up your motivation again?

Michael SCHUMACHER:

Pretty simple, being together with the family, and especially with the kids. I did mention that yesterday already that being together with the kids, they obviously don't realize very much what has gone on. They're too young for this. They simply want to go on. They want to play and they want to enjoy life. They want to educate and develop themselves. That's when you get over it after many days, you get back to normal life.

Q: Looking, if I might, look ahead to next year. The way this year's championship is ending, who are you going to fear most next year?

MS:

I mean, fear is obviously the wrong word, but we will have strong competition certainly. One competitor will obviously be Williams. I don't discard McLarens because they're going to be strong, in my view, too. And we'll have to see who is coming up after that. We see various teams improving the pace in the situation and you should never forget them.

Q: Thanks, Michael. Frank, a couple of races ago when we were talking together, you said Juan Pablo Montoya still had a lot to learn. Since then he's won, of course. In what areas were you referring to really?

Frank WILLIAMS:

A Grand Prix car is a very complex piece of machinery. It just takes a lot to understand which buttons not to push, in very simple terms; and it does require experience.

Q: His performance obviously at Monza must have been very encouraging for the team as well.

FW:

It was for him, too.

Q: Do you think he's changed since then?

FW:

He changed a bit after Montreal in his approach.

Q: That's the major change this year?

FW:

Well, the keyword I use was "approach." That means a number of things, his own attitude, the way he goes to work.

Q: Now, in terms of Jenson, Jenson Button who you've loaned to Flavio, can you see him perhaps coming on next year more than he has this year?

FW:

I should clarify. We didn't loan Jenson to Flavio. Jenson was free to look after his own affairs for two years if we didn't take up the option; and we didn't take up his option on his second year.

Q: So can you see him blossoming at Renault more next year than this?

FW:

I'd say definitely the team, unfortunately from our point of view, is getting very strong now. They could have a winning vehicle next year.

Q: So Michael has got somebody else to worry about.

FW:

I hope so. (Laughter)

Q: Thanks, Frank. Eddie, one of your driver's 200th Grand Prix for Jean Alesi. Perhaps you could comment on that. Is he any different to when he did the first one?

Eddie JORDAN:

A little bit richer, perhaps. (Laughter) Hopefully a little bit wiser. I think it's inappropriate to be being barracked [Ed' note: part of the answer inaudible since Eddie Irvine taled at the same moment] here from behind with Mr. Irvine. But money is the least important thing in his life. (Laughter) But on that basis he told me just recently before he started one of his ex-teammates is no longer in Formula One because he was too nice a guy; and if you apply that logic, I reckon Irvine is here for life. (Laughter)

EI: The two of us.

EJ: But I also might make the point to the person, the journalist who's asking these questions, that I take offense and I think it's wholly inappropriate that you should be wearing a BMW jacket. (Laughter) Sorry, what was the question? (Laughter) Frank, what was he saying? He's a tosser, isn't he? Look at him. (Laughter)

Q: Your PR girl will explain why.

EJ:

Go on. What do you want to know? Oh, yeah, Jean. He's got a better looking wife now. (Laughter) He's richer, he has a bigger boat, a better plane and he's a super guy. (Laughter)

Q: You tested Justin Wilson and Narain Karthikeyan last week and you have given them another test, I think. Why are you doing that again?

EJ:

Honestly, I haven't got a clue. (Laughter). No, I think both of them are very impressive. What is interesting for particularly the guys who have been around a bit, that there is a group of young lads coming who - I think life goes in circles anyway. It just seems to be coming that there's a number of young drivers who have a really strong ability and it's trying to find the correct one. Because, as Michael said, you used the word "fear" and I think perhaps it was somewhat inappropriate. But who would he look out for in cases, and I think for Michael it's - there's a group of very good drivers there in Formula One at the moment, but maybe it will need somebody new who, like Michael was, we all were in total awe of the great Ayrton Senna but it needed somebody new who had not been there at the early stages of Senna's career to come and not be, if you like - I mean, let's be very clear. A young driver and the drivers in Formula One, when they see Michael coming up to lap them, they move out of the way. They need somebody who's different to that.

Q: Okay, thank you, Eddie. Gerhard, again, same question really about Jean, having been a teammate of his for so long. What about your comments about him?

Gerhard BERGER:

Well, I think really he's a great guy. I like him very much because we spent five years together and it's always good fun with him. He has a big heart. He's still, in some ways, still a bit a child; but it's great to have him here. I think he has a lot of fans, he still has a lot of fans around the world that like to watch him drive and like to watch him acting. He's unpredictable. Ask Flavio. He's really a great guy. It's good to have him here and I hope he's going to do a hundred of more races.

Q: Now, a question about Juan Pablo. Villeneuve won the Indy 500, went on into Formula One and the next year he won the World Championship. Can Juan Pablo do the same thing in the same time scale?

GB:

Well, I would say watching Juan Pablo this year, I think he is a great talent. He has a lot of natural talent, a lot of car control. But he's still not able to use every weekend, the potential of the car to the optimum. Simple experience, reason. He just needs a bit more time, a bit more races to use all the tools what you have in Formula One to the optimum. So in some race circuits we see him doing a fantastic job, some others he's still driving very good but he cannot get the job done because the car is not right or he couldn't get the car setup right. So I think we're just going to see his real potential next year. This year was a bit too much at once. He had to learn some circuits, he had to learn to know the team. So for this he did a very, very good job. I think sometimes we forget how short he is in here. I think we're going to see a lot of good races of him in the future.

Q: Thank you, Gerhard. Questions from the floor, please?

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: Yes, this is for Eddie and Michael. Is the honeymoon over with the track? Are you finding more faults this year than last year?

EI:

It's better this year than it was last year because we came with such a hard tire. There was no grip and it was really, really tough to drive the circuit; and our car wasn't the best anyway here. But, yeah, it's not the best circuit in the world; but, you know, we have four walls around it with a golf course here. If this is the best that they can do, then that's the best they can do. If it's possible to do better, it would be great if they tried to do a bit better. I don't know what the situation is. Obviously, they designed this circuit and maybe with the golf course and the layout with the oval, it's impossible to do anything better. I don't know. It's for me it's better for me this year than last year for sure to drive because there's just more pure grip.

MS: I mean, basically the problem you face here is, and most drivers I guess agree on that, it's not the most challenging circuit. And the problem is that you have an oval which you adapted to and all the kind of Formula One racing circuit which always is a compromise at the end of the day. That's the way it ended up, being a compromise in terms of challenge to us. We like coming here to the country. Obviously, the country is great and we like to spend the time. But then you can't have 17 number-one circuits. There's only one at the end of the day.

Q: More questions, please.

Q: Eddie Irvine, fifth fastest today, can you keep that momentum tomorrow?

EI:

I would like to think so, but we've been up there before on Friday and we haven't managed to do it on Saturday. We had no problems at all with the car today, which is probably the first time I've had that in a long time. So we'll see. Friday is always a weird day. We didn't normally do the things that we do on Friday because the situation is slightly different here. So it's too early to say. Come 2:00, we all know.

Q: Front row.

Q: For Frank: There have been so many resurgences of the Williams Team over the past 20 years. Could you comment on the feeling of your team's return to strength this time after perhaps the longest down cycle in your team's history, the past three years or so winless and then the resurgence of the team now? Is it more satisfying perhaps than some of the up cycles of the past for you?

FW:

The overwhelming experience or sentiment in the team is one of deep anxiety, anxiety we can keep it going. (Laughter)

Q: So has anybody used the brake light system today?

MS:

We're going to use them tomorrow. The FIA was still in setup procedure, we couldn't use them. For sure in the morning.

Q: Eddie?

EJ:

Yes, I understand we didn't put them on today but it is on for tomorrow or I understand that it's on for tomorrow.

FW: We're waiting on it.

FB: I don't know.

Q: Can I just clarify that? It's haphazardous whether you want to use them or not?

Q: This is for Michael. The popular view is that if the United States Grand Prix is going to find a permanent home, this is the place where it's going to happen. So in that regard, when you look at all that you've accomplished in your career, how important was it to be the first winner here?

MS:

Obviously, if you go back to Indy 500, the history and the meaning of it, and then the first Formula One race, it does mean something special to put yourself into the book as the first winner of that particular Grand Prix last year, certainly.

Q: Michael, given that the track temperatures today were only about 14 degrees centigrade, how much time do you think that took off what you guys are capable of doing? Let's say the track temperatures had been around 25 or so.

MS:

I guess the track actually has been up to 25. Maybe the ambient was down to 14, to our measurements at least. Because what you see in the monitors is not always correct. But, honestly, these kind of cold temperatures make you go faster rather than slower. Because very often in wintertime you see very good times, asphalt is cold, tires are nice and cold. There is a kind of optimum temperature. Depending the circuit, it varies. But this is very good temperatures for us.

Q: My question is for Frank. Frank, have you had any contact with Alex Zenardi since his horrible accident in Germany? And if you could say something to him, what would you say?

FW:

I spoke to his wife about a week ago and he clearly wasn't taking calls at that time. She didn't want him to have any visitors until the end of the week we're in now. I wasn't able to travel before then. But I intend to go and see him towards the end of next week.

Q: Question for Eddie Jordan. You mentioned something about some of the young drivers coming up. Would the Japanese driver, the F3 champion, Sato, be one of these that you are considering?

EJ:

As I've already mentioned, we've tested a number of drivers in the last week, Wilson for one, Karthikeyan for another, the young boy in Prost's car, Tomas Enge, we tested him last year and he was our test driver. And we did test already a year ago, or less than a year ago, Sato. I think you'll find Sato is probably contracted or still under contract to BAR. I believe he's quick. I think if you check his record, he's won more Formula Three races than anyone in the British series before. Although, it has slightly changed, there are two races now on some days. So a lot of these are confusing and you don't really know how good the competition is. But one thing for sure, he is a very big talent if that's what you are talking about. But there are a lot of good drivers up and coming. I think there is a resurgence personally and it's to get the right one. But, sure, yes, I mean if there's five or six drivers you're looking at, of course, Sato would be one of them.

Q: Frank, you mentioned Montreal kind of being a turning point for Juan Pablo Montoya. What happened in Montreal that changed him?

FW:

The wall hit him. (Laughter)

Q: Michael, after the Monza race, what did you think about what happened before the start and did you have the chance to talk to team principles like Flavio? And what do you think is the future for the drivers on the safety point if there is something that happens in the future?

MS:

I mean, first of all, I think we should say despite the way things have ended, the kind of discussion have made drivers aware of that particular situation and probably except one, everybody behaved very good. This is obviously a very good and positive situation which for sure came through the discussion. We had to make the drivers aware of the situation and just be a little bit more careful. I said at various times already that I don't agree with, like with what Flavio has done to his drivers or some other team principles to basically tell the drivers what to do. The drivers are there to drive, they know how to do this job. I guess Flavio has never sit in any racing car so far. He doesn't know what it feels like; and, therefore, it's a little bit inappropriate to tell the drivers what to do. But that's his decision and not my decision. But what is obviously not so good is that you use the weakness of some drivers and simply tell them what to do and you know they can't do anything against that.

Q: Michael, we got reports over here just after Monza that Ferrari had offered you the option of not racing here and in Japan if you so chose. Could you talk about whether you even considered that? And, also, could you talk about what motivates you to come and compete all out even though you have the championship decided now?

MS:

No, it's quite true that Ferrari even in Monza was very open and said if I feel it's not the right time to race, they would leave the decision with me what to do. And I thought that was very fair from the team to both drivers, honestly. Nobody knew what was going to happen from Monza on. I felt kind of obliged to race in Monza for all the Italians to see. On the other side, I never really had a doubt if things would improve and sort of come back to normal life, not to race in Indy. That was never a doubt for me. As things had improved and had come back to normal life, that's why I'm here and I keep racing. I mean, I'm a racing driver, I intend to race for some more years and I want to give obviously the best. I guess it's the same for all of us. If things would have become difficult or war would have started, then probably none of us would have liked to see a race down here.

Q: The option was offered strictly because of the conditions of the terrorism and not to do with you just had the championship?

MS:

No, simply because of the conditions, yes.

Q: For Michael and a second one after this to Flavio. Michael, putting aside your obvious focus on Formula One, when you come here to Indianapolis, do you ever imagine what it would be like to drive on a high-speed oval and how competitive you might be in a very well set-up car?

MS:

Honestly, I have never really looked into it and thought about it because I simply don't see a point in it. There's two reasons for it. First of all, I feel it is too dangerous from my point of view. The second point is I feel Formula One is the highest challenge you can have in motor racing. So, obviously, I'm doing well here and I don't see a point to prove anything in an Indy race, IndyCar or Champ Car or whatever.

Q: Flavio, what do you think about the comments Michael said earlier vis-a-vis Monza?

FB:

Different head, different idea. I believe it was not only me, was BAR - who's the man? Pollock was in the same line. Everything I see, for me it was the approach of the drivers was wrong. Thursday, the drivers at the briefing, nobody talking about any kind of new start. Then I feel it was unfair Sunday midday to hear this news. I talked with my drivers and this is not true all the drivers was together because Fisichella basically tell me "I want to start normally but Schumacher decide for everybody." Everybody now is with Michael. Button was not so strong as well.

MS: I didn't know you were there.

FB: This was Fisichella. Michael is in the position of the driver, at the same time he is the team manager as well. He made the decision for both. I made the decision for - I only team manager and I try to do the best for my drivers and best for the team. Especially Fisichella was not the guy telling me I don't want to start, he tell me "I do what you want but I'm not convinced to start with the yellow flag. Simple as that." I not see the position so strong. Villeneuve was not strong at all, Panis was not so strong. I mean, I believe it was the approach. If the drivers come to us Thursday and nicely talking, maybe we find a solution. Not Sunday midday before the race.

Q: In view of what happened with Jenson, do you think it would be better to have a yellow flag?

FB:

You know, I'm not for any advantage in that because we're not in the pole position. Only Gerhard and Frank have advantage if you say that. Absolutely not. Jenson tried to do the better start that was possible and had the accident and this happened.

Q: For Eddie IRVINE: Was there a point during the season where you felt that Bobby Rahal wasn't really working out for the team?

EI:

That's not really a question for me. You know, I'm the driver and I reported to Bobby what I thought and reported to Nicky what I thought. Really, everything led from, you know, what Nicky was saying and really Bobby obviously had his bits and pieces to do over here. If you look at Frank Williams, if you look at Ron Dennis and Jean Todt, they live for Formula One, they die for Formula One; and I think that's what we need.

Q: Again for Michael. The trend in professional sports is that the big names are in their twenties. Now Mika is taking a pause. How do you feel about becoming the gray eminence?

MS:

Actually, true. If you look in terms of the age around from other drivers, I'm getting to more the older drivers, but that's the nature. I know I'm not going to be around for ten years, but we'll see how long it's going to last.

Q: Any more?

Q: To the three team principles. BAR has said they're going to launch their car in December given the new testing rules and everything. Is that something you're considering? Or if not, when would you think you'd bring out your new cars?

FW:

January.

EJ: If we're lucky, January. (Laughter) I don't know how they can do it. It's impossible to do it. So much time left to try and consider and develop a car. It's impossible for us to do it in December.

FB: January.

Q: Frank, when Sam Schmidt started his race team for the Indy Racing League in a wheelchair, he said you were one of his inspirations. Had you talked to him and did you give him any advice or anything like that?

FW:

I did speak to him when he was here last year but I didn't - I was most definitely not his inspiration. That came from within him.

Q: Any more? No more? Thank you very much, gentlemen.