Max Papis Q&A

"The major reason was I knew that it was a team that had the desire to succeed. I visited Sigma and was impressed with their brand-new facility. There is clearly a lot of effort being put into building for the future. I knew they would be running the same Lola-Ford package that I have used for all of my success in CART, and all those things came into play when I was making a decision. Sigma has the will to win and they will be around for a long time. I'm going to take all my will to prove that I'm a race winner. I've thought very carefully about what I'm doing, and my values won't change."



"I never look back at the past. It's gone, and you just have to try to make the best of what you have. I definitely want to say thanks to Team Rahal for helping me achieve success over the last three years, with three wins and nine trips to the podium. I left behind some controversial situations, but mostly I remember a group of people with passion for the sport. But life goes on. We won a couple of races in 2001 and finished in the top six in the championship. That means a lot to me, and I want to keep achieving that kind of performance with my new team."



"I feel one reason why I am at Sigma is that they want me to be a part of the team in every way - not just as a driver. They looked at the experience that I have and they believe that I can help make the team something special. I'm going to bring them knowledge as a race winner on both ovals and road courses. It's difficult to talk about how things will be on the track because I haven't tested yet, but I'm very happy with what I've seen on the human side. We'll begin testing in early February, just before 'Spring Training'."



"I want to win. That's the most important thing to me - to be successful. I had some conversations with some Indy Racing League teams. Both series have a good product, but for the moment, the best decision for me was to go with Sigma. No matter where I race, I want to win. But I'm an eclectic driver. This year, I'm going to do the whole CART series, I'm going to do some sportscar races, and if possible, the Indy 500. Someday I would like to drive a Winston Cup Car, because to me, NASCAR is a very interesting world."



"It's all racing - that's what it's all about. Of course I like Champ Cars and open-wheel racing and that is where my heart is. But a real racer should be like Mario Andretti, who could jump into anything and find success. That's a real champion. A race car driver should have no fear and be able to perform in any situation he's put in. I don't like people who have preconceptions. If it's a good package, I'll drive anything that's available, no matter what kind of racing."