Post-race press conference - Italian GP Pt.1.

DRIVERS: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), Kimi Raikkonen (McLaren), Robert Kubica (BMW).

TV UNILATERALS

Q:
Michael, an amazing day, a great start alongside Nick Heidfeld, taking second place early on and an emotional scene there on the podium.

Michael SCHUMACHER:
Yeah, it's been a very special day and to finish it in this style as we have been doing today, looking at the championship as well, but much more at what's going to happen somehow in future. There's been a lot of discussion for a long time concerning my future and so on and I think all the fans, all the people interested in motor sport, they have a right to have explained to them what's going to happen. I'm sorry it may have taken longer than some of you wanted but you have to savor a moment, and you have to find the right moment and we feel this is the right moment.

To make it short in a way, this is going to be my last Monza race that I'm going to do. At the end of this year, I've decided, together with the team, that I'm going to retire from racing. It has been an exceptional, really exceptional time, what motor sport has given to me in more than thirty years. I've really loved every single moment of the good and the bad times. Those ones make life so special.

In particular, I should thank my family, starting, obviously, with my Dad, my passed-away Mum and obviously my wife and my kids who, at all times, supported what I was doing, and without their support, without their strengths, to survive in this business and this sport, and to perform, I think would have been impossible, and obviously I can't be thankful enough, obviously to my family but also to my mates from the Benetton time and obviously, specially in the Ferrari days when I have made so many friends. I have so many great guys in that team and it has been a really tough decision to decide to not work together at this level with all my friends, my engineers, everybody.

They are just so great but one day, the day has to come and I felt that at one point that this is the moment as well as, in terms of timing the decision, I thought that it was fair to find that moment so that Felipe has a chance to decide his future, because I think he is a very great guy. He has been doing a very good job for the team, very supportive, a really great teammate, and there was a moment for him to decide for his future, and there was no point for me to take my decision any later than his decision had to be taken and this was the conclusion.

As well as in a way my future replacement, it's a driver - at some stage the team will tell you - but I was always pleased and I knew a long time ago - to hear that he was the person, and now I would just like to concentrate on these last three wins and finish it in style, and hopefully with the championship, we have made a big step today for that and I really look forward, and I want to thank everybody who has been on my way, or supporting me at all stages. They have been a lot of people. Thank you very much.

Q:
I'm sure everybody in Formula One wishes you well on that decision, Michael. Just
looking back to this great win today, what were your thoughts when you were behind Kimi in those early stages?

MS:
Well, I was hoping that he was stopping a little bit earlier than we would, and so it happened, and the nature of this track is that if you stop earlier you obviously lose out because you run heavy against a car which is light, and that was enough to get by.

Q:
Thereafter, it looked to be a race you were in control of. A slight moment with Scott Speed, going into the chicane on lap 31, you lost a little bit of time there, but otherwise relatively troublefree.

MS:
Yeah. Absolutely.

Q:
Kimi, a great start, pressure from Michael in the early stages of the race.

Kimi RAIKKONEN:
Umm. Yeah. The start worked very well. I was a little bit concerned about our starting, because the previous starts haven't been exactly good, but the guys did an excellent job fixing the start system and everything worked well. I had a good start and I was just trying to go as fast as I could before the first pit stop, because I was thinking that they might stop a little bit later, so if I could pull out any gap, any chance we could have to try and fight for a win, but as it turned out, we were not quick enough today. But second was quite easy, so in the end I just slowed down and brought the car home and got second place. Unfortunately that was the maximum that we could have today, but it is still a good weekend.

Q:
Robert, on the podium, third place in your third Grand Prix, a fantastic drive, a lot of fuel in the car, and unbelievably quick off the line with your teammate Nick Heidfeld.

Robert KUBICA:
I'm really surprised to finish third. We knew that we had good tyres this time for the race, not only for qualifying as happened in Istanbul so we were concerned about qualifying, but when we saw that we could be competitive in qualifying as well, and go easily into third qualifying, I knew that we would have quite a consistent car for the race and that's what happened. Good start, unfortunately I locked my wheels in the first corner and I flat-spotted my tyres, so I got a lot of vibration. Then we changed the tyres and it was always a tough race because I had to fight with Felipe and Alonso and also lapping doesn't help me because I was the first one of the group who was lapping and I always lost a second. Then we just came out of the second pit stop with Fernando, side-by-side. Anyway, he blew up the engine and it was really risky because there was oil. Felipe went through and I think he got a puncture or something and then the end of the race was quite easy for me, just bring the car home and the first podium of my life in Formula One.

Q:
Michael, tell us about your mindset now as you look ahead to those three closing races in the championship, now only two points behind Fernando Alonso.

MS:
I think it is very easy to say what my mindset is. It's not right to say, I'm more focused than ever because I've always been focused on only one thing once I'm in the car, so it is now. It's a championship which started difficult in the beginning, but we returned to it after another difficulty mid-season and now we are two points behind with three races to go, so if I look back to Canada, nobody would have thought we could be in that position. Now we are, due to some luck, but if you look at the retirements over the year, it's now equal and there we are, so 100 percent focused for the Constructors' and Drivers' championship.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q:
Michael, one of the things I think you like doing most is standing on the top step of a rostrum on a sunny Sunday afternoon, and today was probably one of the best. How are going to give it up?

MS:
Yeah, Monza is just unbelievable, always has been very special particularly after the race when all the fans are allowed to celebrate this moment so close to us and with us and due to the nature of the circumstances, it's obviously an unbelievable feeling that I had out there today.

Q:
You said to Peter just now that you knew a long time ago who was going to be driving in the team next year, so how difficult has it been for you to make your decision?

MS:
It has obviously, naturally, been difficult in a way but at one moment I simply knew that all the effort, all the energy, all the motivation you need in order to be competitive - and that's the only reason I want to be here - I can't see I'm going to have that for further years. It has been such a good time for all this time and there's no point just to hang in there and maybe take away the future of a very young talented driver like Felipe. Obviously my replacement... I was aware of this for quite a long time, but with Felipe it was obviously around Indianapolis that his future had to be decided and I didn't see a reason to just hang in there and maybe take away his opportunity and I believe he's a very talented and great person.

Q:
You still have that competitive instinct, how are you going to get rid of it?

MS:
Well, we will have to see. I always said that the day I will retire, I will just do nothing for a while and then I will see what I'm doing, what is my mood and what's going to happen, but I will always be part of that Ferrari family, I will have to find out how, but I will always stick with my friends there.

Q:
Today's race: in the early stages were you just holding station behind Kimi, were you quite happy with that position?

MS:
There isn't much sense to go much closer honestly, because you just start fighting the car much harder for not much gain, so I had to wait close to the pit stop time and then we both picked up the lap times and tried to stay as close as possible and luckily I had two extra laps and that worked out.

Q:
No problem with the car today?

MS:
No.

Q:
How difficult will these future races be do you think, now that you've made your decision?

MS:
I think this was my most tough one, in a way but it worked out fine. It's not as if I'm lacking anything to make my decision, and this is the reason for it. I don't want to be going away when I'm well over it and I want to leave while I'm still at the top level, so I don't have any reason to have a problem for the last three races.

Q:
Kimi, a little bit disappointed?

KR:
Yeah, of course you want to win but unfortunately we didn't have the speed today. The car was working well, it was nice to drive but it was just not quick enough to challenge Michael today. Second was easy, but that's not what we want but anyhow it was a good weekend.

Q:
And your feelings about joining Ferrari next year?

KR:
Of course, it's next year. I want to finish this year as well as I can. I'm happy to join a team with a history and all the great things, but first of all I want to finish this year as well as I can and then see what happens next year.

Q:
Robert, what a fantastic result in only your third Grand Prix; could you ever have imagined that at the start of this year?

RK:
No. For me it was already a really great opportunity which BMW Sauber gave me to be a test driver, and then, as everybody knows, I replaced Jacques in the Hungarian Grand Prix and this is my third Grand Prix. In Hungary, I scored points but unfortunately our car was too light. Here: podium, which we were not expecting. After qualifying we thought about some points but when you're starting on the third row and you have two Renaults behind you, which are really strong... After the start, I was third I think. I had the Ferrari of Massa behind me and it was not easy to hold him but anyway, I think we had a good strategy, good car and thanks to the team for giving me such a good opportunity and thanks to our guys.

Q:
And a big battle with Nick at the first corner?

RK:
It was big? After the start, I knew that it was important to go out of the first chicane really well so he went in too quick, I got on the throttle earlier and just overtook him.