2004 GRAND PRIX OF JAPANSUNDAY PRESS CONFERENCE10.10.2004 1. Michael SCHUMACHER (FERRARI), 1h24m26.985s2. Ralf SCHUMACHER (WILLIAMS), 1h24m41.083s (+14.098s)3. Jenson BUTTON (BAR), 1h24m46.647s (+19.662s)
Q: Michael, it looked like a copybook race today, from the pole, a difficult qualifying session earlier today and then start to finish.Michael SCHUMACHER: Yeah. We honestly sort of pre-decided the race at qualifying because it was pretty clear that we would have a pretty strong race pace but qualifying was the doubt, in particular because it was damp conditions and we can have problems in these conditions. As we got pole position there, I was pretty confident that, if the start went well, I could do it. But I had Ralf in my mirrors for quite a while and the gap wasn’t increasing as I was sort of expecting because they seemed to find a really good race pace too. But luckily he pitted earlier and then, it was sort of clear how the race would go.
Q; There was quite a variety of strategies, probably because qualifying and the race was on the same day. Was that a concern before the race, what everyone else was up to?MS: Certainly, yes. It wasn’t clear who would be how heavy because we had no indication from practice so we had to be flat-out in the beginning part of the race until the pit stops had been done and then we could judge who was on what strategy.
Q: And a trouble-free, incident-free race, except I think there was a Jordan stationary in the middle of the track on one of the laps you came past.MS: Yeah, but there was enough space, there was a yellow flag indication and I slowed sufficiently to make sure I could handle the situation and then it was straightforward.
Q: Ralf, your first proper podium of the year, good to see you back, and a trouble-free race and not too much traffic around you either, once Michael got away.Ralf SCHUMACHER: Well, I mean, the start went okay and I was actually surprised I was able to follow Michael, we pitted a bit earlier but still, it was quite good. Then I had a lot of traffic. I came back in the middle of a pack, at the back of a pack basically, and I was a bit concerned. But it all worked out in the end, the car worked pretty well, the team did a great job in all the pit stops, they all went trouble-free and quick, and it was the right strategy for us, so I think it was a good weekend for us.
Q: What was it like following Michael in those early stages? Michael said he was a bit concerned how you were able to hang onto him. Did you feel you could match his pace?RS: Well, in the beginning sort of. He was still pulling away but, as he said, not as much as he might have expected. But I pitted four laps early so you would expect some difference anyway.
Q: Jenson, an interesting race for you too, you held off Taku for the first six laps. We didn’t actually see what happened there – did you let him past or did he squeeze past on the lighter fuel load?Jenson BUTTON: He was probably slowing me down actually because I was really struggling with rear grip on the first five or six laps, big oversteer on pretty much every corner I came to until the graining started. So he came past through the quick left-hander, Dunlop, and there was no use trying to fight him at all or anything because I knew I was on a different strategy.
Q: As it turned out your two-stop beat his three-stop.JB: Yeah, the strategies were very, very similar in race time but I went for the two-stop because it worked for me very well at the last race and I am used to driving the car when it is pretty heavy. It worked pretty well but compared to these two we were quite a way off today.
Q: Where do you think the difference was with Ralf today? Do you think it was in that early stage?JB: In the first stint, definitely, I mean, he pulled out a huge gap in that first stint. Ralf stopped, I think, six laps before me, but even so
