Question: Michael, again a driver with a lot of memories here: 2006 is one of our great memories, which is yours?
Michael Schumacher: Obviously, having been around for so long there are many special memories but yes, 2006 was a particular one. Last race before the retirement and a pretty special race that initially, after the puncture I got, I thought ‘might as well go into the pits and start the party early’, but then I thought ‘give it try and see where you go’. It turned out to be a memorable race and a very exciting one.
Question: You’ve also had a lot of podiums. Not just the four wins but six podiums as well.
Michael Schumacher: Yes, it worked out over the years. It’s a very interesting and very challenging circuit and we seemed to have the right car and combination to do well here in the past.
Question: I’m intrigued that you’re still making progress or seem to be making progress with the Mercedes. Even though you’re not necessarily putting new bits onto it you are seeming to understand it and getting more pace from it. It seems extraordinary.
Michael Schumacher: I’m not sure it’s actually true. Each car has a certain character and certain tracks may fit better or not so good to it. Maybe lately we’ve had some tracks that fit the car well. Certainly since mid-season from our side we are able to maximise the potential of the car, a lot more consistent which I’m obviously glad about.
Question: In the last race we saw that some drivers could overtake the competitor in front, and the following straight you could get the position back. Here there is more or less a similar situation: we have a great pit straight and then you brake hard and then you have another straight where you can use the DRS. Do you believe you will be in the same situation as you were in the last race?
Michael Schumacher: I think that if you are able to pass on the main straight, you would actually definitely be the quicker car, because you do it without DRS and then the chicane itself should be enough to clear yourself so that the guy behind shouldn’t have sufficient power, even with DRS, to then re-pass you, so you probably only pass at equal speed on the back straight, because of the DRS, but it shouldn’t be similar to what we saw in Abu Dhabi.
Question: You obviously raced here in the days when Ayrton raced here and it was a very, very special atmosphere, with the drums going - incredible days. I wonder, when you arrive here on a Thursday and you get out of your hire car and you look around at the atmosphere here, do you ever think of him?
Michael Schumacher: He’s certainly someone you will always have in your memory. For me, it goes way back to when I saw him in his go-kart days, becoming a fan of what he was doing, particularly in these go-kart days because I think he has been so exceptional and so special. And then being able to race him over here and having had those years together, it’s a privilege and I’m very honoured to have done so. It’s great to see that none of us - and even outside - forget what Ayrton has done, as if it was yesterday. It’s so fresh, he’s just around and that’s great.
Question: What are your impressions of the rule changes to improve racing this year? Do you think it’s had a positive impact, as the season comes to an end?
Michael Schumacher: It’s about DRS, I guess. To me, I think it is very obvious that we have improved big time. We have had incredible races this year. I take one particular example and I think it’s pretty fresh still, and that’s Korea. If you think about the fight that Mark Webber and Lewis had together over there; without DRS, it would have been nowhere close, we wouldn’t have seen anything. It would have just been a normal kind of old traditional kind of race and in that respect, it may not always work out perfectly, there’s a little room to improve the situation but in general it has contributed a lot to some great racing.
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