Post-race press conference - San Marino GP - Pt.1.

Drivers: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), Jenson Button (BAR), Juan Pablo Montoya (Williams)

TV unilaterals

Q:
An interesting first few laps today. Tell us about them?

Michael Schumacher:
Yeah, absolutely. It was mind-blowing what Jenson put up in front. I just told him, I thought it was raining in front of me and it was dry for him. He was just disappearing into nowhere and I was really wondering... It took quite a few laps 'til everything got going and we got up to temperature and we were able to chase. And then his first stint... so I was really quick. I saw the lap times, low 1m 21s, and he was pulling away and I thought this is going to be a very very busy and tough afternoon. Luckily, whatever happened, we sort of kept our pace and they dropped off a little bit from their initial pace.

Q:
It was a very exciting opening lap, quite a lot of incidents going on there, as you predicted. What was it like from your point of view, going into the chicane, coming out of Tosa?

MS:
Well, it was very slippery on my side and I was fighting with Juan. It was a bit difficult to keep him behind me and, obviously, I wanted to avoid him getting by because I knew I was going to get faster once the first couple of laps got going. And I wanted to stay in touch with Jenson because that was the crucial point.

Q:
It turns out that you qualified with a bit more fuel on board - you stopped two laps later than Jenson at that first stop. Do you think that was critical?

MS:
I don't think it is important. I think Jenson put in a very good lap. I didn't and that is the end result. He deserved pole position and I deserved second position.

Q:
Jenson, you led the San Marino Grand Prix, just describe that first of all, those opening laps?

Jenson Button:
The first lap was a fantastic feeling. I was really wringing the neck of the car, I wanted to get a good gap on the first lap and it worked. And I was very happy with my pace in the first stint. It was when we got out on new tyres after we refuelled that I seemed to struggle a little bit compared to Michael.

Q:
Well, you say you struggled compared with Michael, but the difference between you and the rest of the Michelin runners was night and day. How good was the car today? Was it perfect?

JB:
No. In a race, it's very difficult to have a perfect car. It seems windier today and the car was a little bit twitchier than what we expected. It was a little bit tough to drive, but even with those problems, the pace was still very good.

Q:
Juan Pablo, let's have that first lap from your point of view?

Juan Pablo Montoya:,/B>
Well, you know Michael had a poor start. He was slow out of the first chicane, you know, the first turns two and three. I went to pass, he closed the door on me and I had to back off. Then he did the same out of the next corner and closed the door, so I went for the inside and I'm coming out beside him and, the next thing I see, he's just coming straight at me, hit me and put me in the grass. It's very disappointing to see racing like that, but I'll be surprised if he gets away with it. It's up to the FIA really.

Q:
Was there any damage to your car, you say there was a contact?

JPM:
No, no, no. He just hit me hard enough to put me in the grass. Bit disappointing, but I thought I was hard in there.

Q:
And then a race up the hill with your team-mate Ralf Schumacher...

JPM:
Yeah, you know, I came into the track and I saw him and I had to close the door. I closed the door and I had enough momentum just to keep in front of him.

Q:
And Jenson's pace?

JPM:
I couldn't believe the first lap. He was like on rails. He was unbelievable. I knew what pace we could do and we did it. We were a bit surprised by their pace really. There's nothing we can do, the car's just not quick enough.

Q:
Michael, you've heard a little bit about what Juan Pablo said, but let's talk about the day from your point of view. Just reflect a little bit on this San Marino Grand Prix, what it means to you - your third straight win here and obviously a great win for Ferrari and an emotional weekend.

MS:
Absolutely. More than that, it's emotional because I'm the ambassador of the San Marino Grand Prix and the State, and it's a home grand prix in the pocket where I was able to really excite all our supporters, the tifosi, outside. The emotion that's going on there is really fantastic. It's a dream come true, to come home after a successful first three races and deliver a dream result - with the exception of qualifying - for the final result.

Press conference:

Q:
Michael, congratulations. Your were talking about it being very slippery, do you think that was because of last night's rain, and did it affect you perhaps more than others?

MS:
Maybe, in a way. For sure, the rain washed off the rubber, the temperature being cool and everything together made it a little bit more slippery, and it seems like we needed a little bit more time until our tyres got up to temperature and grip, compared maybe to the competitor's tyres.

Q:
But obviously your fourth win out of this year has got to be fantastic - it can't get any better can it?

MS:
No, certainly not. Except maybe leaving out the mistake of yesterday - but you can't always be perfect.

Q:
Presumably, you were easing up at the end - can you just confirm that?

MS:
Yes, certainly. I had quite a gap and I saw Jenson's pace, I was informed of that on the radio, so I just drove the pace accordingly and eased up.

Q:
You've heard Juan Pablo's comments about the first lap; have you got any reply to that?

MS:
No.

Q:
Jenson, second place, what was it like, however, being hunted down by Michael?

JB:
It was quite strange because I know it's very difficult to overtake here, so when Michael was behind, I wasn't too worried until I got to the first pit-stop - where he pitted two laps later and had a huge gap after. I was actually quite shocked about that.

Q:
What about the grip, as far as you were concerned in those opening laps?

JB:
I found the grip level very low on the first lap, but I had a very good start off the line there, and then I was able to pull away. I was pushing very, very hard, the car was a little bit nervous, but I knew that Michael would try and do something on the first lap, so I pulled out a good advantage which definitely helped me.

Q:
Then, just about the same time as Takuma expired, you set a 1m 28s lap time suddenly. What happened there?

JB:
I must have been one of the first cars past his and I didn't know anything about it, so I pretty much stopped because I couldn't see anything and lost six or seven seconds going through the smoke. I was just being very cautious.

Q:
General feelings about the second place?

JB:
Very happy. I think we all know that the pace of the Ferrari is untouchable in the race, but [this is] a fantastic result for all of us. Going to Barcelona, I'm very happy with my year so far and it should be a good race for us.

Q.
Juan Pablo, third...could you have hoped for better?

JPM:
No, not really, it wasn't quick enough, was it?

Q.
But is there some light at the end of the tunnel?

JPM:
There has got to be, either this year or next year, or whenever. At the moment, we don't have anything. The car is not quick enough. In qualifying, the car manages to get a good lap but, in the race, we just...we can be quick sometimes, but it is just miles off.

Q.
Can you say if it is power or handling?

JPM:
It is a little bit of everything, to be honest. We are down on power and we are down on downforce as well. We are a bit like best of the rest, apart from that BAR have now overtaken us. We need to find a way to come back a little bit.