Michael Schumacher Q&A

"Yes, it was back to the old says, like Suzuka. It was a very close fight. I think we were very close together, but I'm almost certain that Ferrari was just that much better, if I wouldn't have the problem in the last stint."



"I would like to say one thing. Everybody knows that our president [Luca di Montezemolo] has a new baby, and he asked me for a present. Hopefully this is a very nice present for our president and his wife, and I would like to express again my congratulations that they have a healthy child. Hopefully I will see them soon."



"I retired many times in the lead. That's the way unfortunately racing can sometimes be. I feel very sorry for Mika. He's done a great job, it was a great race, it was a good fight, a good battle, it's a shame to see him losing like that."



"Yes, but he's had such a tough season, that's what I see in the first instance. So it would have been somehow fair for him to win the race."



"I simply expressed my, how you say, sorry. We get on so well even though we fight for two different teams, two different interests, and there's a lot of pressure. We always have got on very well, and at this moment you have a lot of feelings for him."



"I had a big vibration, and a big problem with my last set of tyres, obviously. I don't know what the reason is. With the first two sets of tyres I was going very fast, I was pulling away a little bit, and normally it should have been enough. But then if the tyre doesn't work in the last stint, then there's nothing you can do, and that's why they took our win. Because under normal circumstances I should have been increasing the gap to him after the last stop, and we were about a second slower than expected."



"No, the strategy was perfect, it was simply when the tyres don't work properly... When you look at the times I was doing a high 21s, 22s. Then when I put new tyres on I was doing 21.0s, 21.1s, and very consistent. Then again at the end of the second stint I was 21 high. Then I put on the new tyres, and I managed just a 21 high and then I fell off into the 22s, over 23s. So I was about one second slower with this set of tyres, and the fuel level was exactly the same as I had in the stint before, so it was just down to the tyres. There's no other reason there can be, especially with the vibration."