Post-race press conference - French GP - Pt. 2.

Drivers: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), Fernando Alonso (Renault) and Felipe Massa (Ferrari).

Questons from the floor:

Q: (Matthias Brunner - Motorsport Aktuell).
Fernando, do you think a different tyre choice would have changed anything for the race?

Fernando Alonso:
No, I don't think so. I think the two tyres we had here they worked really well as we expected and tested last week in Jerez and nothing was a surprise for us and probably the Bridgestone tyre did a really good job as well and they worked really well because we had two Ferraris and two Toyotas in the top five so it was not a perfect weekend for us. But with a difficult weekend we have eight points and we have second place so it is fantastic news.

Q: (Thierry Vautrat - Sud Ouest).
To Fernando, I would like to know, when you were in front of Michael on his second stint, did you think that would be enough for you to keep him behind you?

FA:
No because I knew I had to stop three laps later and take fuel to the end and it was a really heavy car and we both had to do one stop after those laps and he was quicker than me for sure in those laps.

Q: (Juha Paatalo - Financial Times Deutschland ).
Could you clarify - did you have two strategies as options before the race? Or did you change during the race?

FA:
No we have always two options and here especially because it is wide open between two and three stops and the first stop was similar in both cases around 17, 18 and 19 and from there we decide and because we start behind the Ferraris I think it was quite clear and our tyres seemed to be a little more constant in the long runs and so we chose the two stops.

Q: (Andrea Cremonesi - La Gazetta dello Sport).
Michael could you tell us when you use the new set and, Felipe, if I understood, you had also the option to do two stops?

Michael Schumacher:
Last stop and second-last stop.

Felipe Massa:
We had, like Fernando said, both teams have the two options and we thought that looking at the traffic that if the traffic was not a problem three stops was a little bit better, but for me it wasn't really the case. I took a lot of traffic and I lost very important seconds behind the traffic and the strategy on three stops was a little bit tight for me but we just know after the race.

Q: (Livio Oricchio - O Estado de Sao Paulo).
Question for Michael. In lap number 18, did you realise that you really could win the race because you didn't have reference before about tyre performance in long runs?

MS:
At that moment, I think I had already eight seconds or something like that in front of Fernando, if I am correct - and I am not sure, the main point was in the first laps was how the tyres would go because we had had some difficulties, but the track came through with us and it was ok. We had consistent lap times from there on and I was pretty optimistic.

Q: (Juha Paatalo - Financial Times Deutschland).
Felipe, yesterday you said you would try to do everything to help Ferrari in the world championship and the race proved that you couldn't do it today. How unhappy are you about that and secondly do you think there was a chance to finish second in this race?

FM:
I think that to finish third helped the team so Michael make two points in front of Fernando and I made few points in front of Giancarlo and that is helping the team I guess. That's important and for sure I was trying to keep my position and it was not possible today. I had a lot of traffic and I lost time and Fernando was very consistent on his tyres especially on two stops and on his second stint and he could make a little gap to stay in the front. I don't agree with you that I am not helping the team. I think we have taken away some points and it is a big help for the championship.

Q: (Juha Paatalo - Financial Times Deutschland).
But I mean mathematically if you calculate it is not enough if Michael is always first and Fernando is second.

FM:
But we still have seven races and the mathematics is important at the end of the championships, not now. Everything is important, race by race, but we still have seven races and we try to do our best to be at the front of the championship at the end. I pushed as hard as I could to stay in second position but it was not possible, but it was important for me and for the team.

Q: (Carlos Miquel Gomez - Diario As).
Fernando, was Massa correct in the first corner?

FA:
Yes, I think so. We always try to keep our positions and always the start here at Magny-Cours is very difficult because the first corner is really quick and on the left, flat-out and then a very quick corner on the right and I think it was quite normal what happened there. Massa had nothing to lose, his Ferrari drivers had to back off for sure.

Q: (Philippe Joubin - L'Equipe).
A question for Fernando - yesterday after qualifying you seemed very confident. Why were you so confident to fight for victory?

FA:
Well, we were confident because we did our maximum in qualifying and there were no mistakes and nothing went wrong and if we finished third we believed it was because for one lap performance our tyres were not quick enough and maybe this paid out in the race with a more consistent tyre and it was what we thought yesterday and I still think our tyres were a little bit more constant than the Ferraris but they were probably not quick enough to beat them.

Q: (Serhan Acar - CNN Turkey).
A question for Michael - now you have 160 podiums and 88 wins if I am right. How far do you think you can go? Is 100 wins possible for you?

MS:
Find out.