Post-race press conference - San Marino GP Pt.2.

Drivers:Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), Fernando Alonso (Renault), Juan Pablo Montoya (McLaren).

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Frederic Ferret - L'Equipe),
Michael, How did you leave your last pit-stop, with your feelings?

MS:
Pretty straightforward. We saw that they (Renault) changed their strategy and came in early, so at this moment all there is to do is push hard, so I could get a good pit-stop and hope to stay in front. It worked out much better than I thought. Excuse me, I was just watching that on tv. It was a big deal to come out in front and it was clear then that we should be in a good position to win the race.

Q: (Ottavio Daviddi - Tuttosport),
Michael, do you think that Ferrari have closed the gap to Renault with all the work the team have done on the car?

MS:
As Fernando said, they feel less competitive here than elsewhere. We were very competitive except for at one point when I think something was wrong with the car. We've had good testing in Barcelona and I think we should be pretty good from now on honestly. It's honestly getting very close between the top teams for maximising their performance so it should be good.

Q: (Livio Oricchio - O Estado de Sao Paulo),
Michael, on your second stint, were they new or old tyres?

MS:
New. The second and third stint were new tyres.

Q: (Juha Paatalo - Financial Times Deutschland)
Fernando, do you think it would have been a better idea to stay out any longer before your last pit-stop?

FA:
Who knows? Probably. After the race, it's time to stand there and see what was better, but in those moments, you take a decision in one lap or whatever. I think we did the right thing. We were two seconds slower than our pace behind Michael, so we thought one lap we come in should be enough. Unfortunately, it was not enough and it was easier to say that it is better to wait for the planned stop, but it is too late. I think we did the right thing ,but it didn't work this time.

Q: (Andrea Cremonesi - La Gazzetta dello Sport),
Fernando, don't you feel you lost the race yesterday?

FA:
No. I think the strategies were all different. We want to be on Sunday afternoon in the top position, not on Saturday. We have had four races. I have won two and finished second in the other two, so that is not bad for the championship.

Q:
Did losing two laps of fuel allowance effect you much?

FA:
It's a bad thing but one was impossible to avoid because I had a bad lap on new tyres and I had to find my gap, and the first one was the out-lap. We were tenth car in the traffic and it was impossible to overtake and impossible to recover.

Q: (Anthony Rowlinson - Autosport),
Michael, does this result have an effect on your feelings for the future?

MS:
No

Q: (Frederic Ferret - L'Equipe),
Michael, were you scared a bit when you saw Fernando coming back?

MS:
No. The moment I saw my lap times falling out of the window, it was clear that he was coming. There was nothing to do.

Q: (Ottavio Daviddi - Tuttosport),
Michael , are you confident for the next race considering that the track is very different from Imola and also the weather could have a big effect?

MS:
As I said before, we should be competitive everywhere from now on, but it is always the same - at the end of the day, who maximises their opportunities will be in front.

Q: (Philippe Joubin - L'Equipe),
Fernando, do you consider Ferrari or Michael Schumacher your main contender for the title this year?

FA:
We have to wait and see. Michael for sure will be contender and a big rival at the end of the championship, but he is not the only one. Both McLarens will be there and I hope Fisichella will be at the end fighting. It can be more than two or three drivers at the end of the championship. We also have to remember that Ferrari had a very bad season last year but here at Imola they were one second quicker than us. Imola is a quite different circuit so we will find out in the next two or three races who the quick cars are in 2006.

Q: (Juha Paatalo - Financial Times Deutschland)
Michael, was your second pitstop planned this way or did you have to react to what Renault did?

MS:
I didn't ask that question yet because I wasn't watching what lap I was on - I was just watching what the team was telling me, and the team told me to get in and I didn't have time to check what lap it was.

Q: (Federica Ferri - Il Nuovo Diario Messaggero)
You know there will be changes to the Variante Bassa next year. Do you think next year it will be possible to overtake more on the track? Will Bassa changes reduce overtaking?

MS:
If you have a longer straight with the right combination of starting the long straight and finishing it, then you get an overtaking opportunity. The way it is now, it's almost impossible.

FA:
Same.