Monday February 7th, 2000

Read the Interview with Rubens Barrichello
Read Interview with Jean Todt

Interview with Michael Schumacher

Q: How do you feel, how is your leg?

Michael Schumacher: It's fine. Well enough to approach the new season in a strong position, being well prepared. I've had a good relaxing time preparing for the new season. I've seen the new car, and all the data. I'm optimistic, very optimistic.

Q: Do you feel that you're better prepared, having had a good break?

Schumacher: It sometimes helps. I've been here for four years now, working hard and doing a lot of kilometers. It's sometimes good to have a break.

Q: How much testing will you do?

Schumacher: I hope enough to finish the first race in first position. That's what is important.

Q: How frustrated were you when you were sidelined last year?

Schumacher: Well, it took one second to realise that the championship was over. The frustration wore off very quickly. You then care about yourself, to get better. You think about other things . You don't think about title. There weren't many times that I thought that I had missed an opportunity, because it was bad luck. These things happen. I'm a realistic person, I don't dream. It's over and I look forward to the future.

Q: Did it still mean a lot to help Ferrari win the Manufacturers' title?

Schumacher: Oh yes, it still gave the team a push. Obviously some of the pressure has eased because we won that title and we feel optimistic to win the championship this year.

Q: You've been close to winning for three years. Do you feel that you're finally going to do it this year?

Schumacher: Honestly, it's been the right time to win for the last three years. All we can say is that we tried our best, and we will try even hard, to the best of our ability to do it this year. I have a good feeling for it. But it's a sport. How can you predict the outcome? Everything is in our hands, and we can only hope it will be enough.

Q: The team has improved everything that they do to the car; can you go away and come back with a new and improved Michael Schumacher?

Schumacher: As a consequence to the accident, I learned new things about training. I see now the results, which are quite good from a personal point of view. With the same amount of training that I've always done in the winter, about four or five hours, I have achieved more from it, because I'm concentrating more on what I'm doing. So now I want to prove it in the car. I want to go racing and show it. It's all statistical and theoretical, but now I want to prove it.

Q: Everyone in Italy wants Ferrari to win this year? Are you conscious of that feeling of goodwill that is behind the red car?

Schumacher: Yes. It's something that is always with Ferrari, because Ferrari is special for many supporters and fans and you do feel that and that makes you proud and motivated.

Q: What about the opposition?

Schumacher: Clearly McLaren will be strong. They will be the team to beat and vice versa. I consider teams like Jaguar and Jordan as being the next two teams which can be involved in the battle. We should be ahead of them, but they could be involved when we make mistakes or have problems but in normal circumstances, we should be ahead of them.

Q: What about the competition; how will Eddie do at Jaguar?

Schumacher: I can't see why Eddie can't develop a car. We've worked together at Ferrari for four years, and he has a lot of knowledge, because Ferrari isn't just a team, in my view, it's the number one team, although perhaps we haven't been able to prove it in the drivers' championship. If you look at the team effort, what Ferrari has done over the years is extraordinary. We started with a car that wasn't competitive but we made it competitive and fought for the championship. OK, so we didn't win the championship but this team is very strong and Eddie will have benefited from the information and experience that he gained here and can use it in his new team.

Q: How are you getting on with your teammate?

Schumacher: I'm getting on fine with him. He's a nice guy. I don't expect any problems. We know each other well from testing and I hope it will stay this good throughout the season.

Interview with Rubens Barrichello

Q: Can you compare your old and new teams, your old and new cars?

Rubens Barrichello: It would be sad to compare them. I owe a lot to Jackie and Paul. They brought me here, to this level. They said that I should expect this car to be better, because Ferrari won the Constructors championship, so when I went to drive the Ferrari, I felt the difference, even though it wasn't that big. It felt a little bit better. It's a whole different thing. We're testing a lot more than I used to test. Everything is inside this little 'city'. If you want to see the wind tunnel, you come here; if you want to talk to the mechanics, you go over there. The facilities are really great. It's just incredible. I asked them to change something on one of the pedals, and in two minutes, it was back, changed. Because of those facilities, the car is very reliable and they have a chance to win from the first race.

Q: What about your role? What is your status in the team?

Barrichello: If I came to this team and said I want to be number one, I would suggest I would have trouble. Michael is in his fifth year trying to win the championship and he's brought speed to the team and a lot of experience and motivation to the team. I think the team is better because of him.

So I had to come in in quite a small way. I had to come in and ask for some equal terms, and ask for support, and that's what they are giving me. I think they will let me win right from the start. I have nothing in my contract saying that I have to let Michael by. We both have to support the team, we both have to obey team orders. As long as I'm in front because I deserve it, I should have no problem.

Q: What do you bring to the team?

Barrichello: I'm quite but I've been in Formula One seven years. I like to work on the technical side of the car, so I've told them everything I know, how I felt the car, and made the better car better suited to my style. Apparently Michael liked the changes that I'd made to the car when he used it after me in Barcelona. The suited his style. So that made me pleased. I enjoyed working technically in that way.

Q: You mentioned the Ferrari family; do you feel part of that family?

Barrichello: Speaking the language makes it easier to talk to the mechanics and to be part of it. Every day you can talk to the boss or the lowliest mechanic, so it is a family. Everything is new for me, but the thing that's important to me now is that I have a competitive car and that I can win my first race.

When I first came into Formula One, I thought that I would win my first race quite soon, but obviously that didn't happen. I had a chance to win races but then something happened. Now it's closer than ever. If I go into the 2000 championship thinking that I want to finish on the podium or I want to finish the race, I will be lying, I want to win.

Q: How is Brazil reacting to their first real Ferrari Formula One driver?

Barrichello: They're going mad. At some point I think they will get fed up of seeing me on TV. It's quite a motivation. Brazil has a lot of problems but the Brazilians live together, we have a lot of power. If I can win for Ferrari, it will make Brazil better and that will please me. I think a lot of people are convinced I can do that, and I am convinced I can do that too.

Q: Are you still enthralled by the 'Ferrari experience'?

Barrichello: Yes. I have been working on it. When I first came here and I saw my name on the car, it brought tears to my eyes. But, at the same time, I wasn't there for emotional reasons, I was there professionally and to win. I had this little emotional moment, but I got back to business very quickly. So I'm not thinking like a young kid and looking for success. I'm thinking 'wow, this is a good car and I have to grab this chance.'

Interview with Jean Todt

Question: What's the mood like this year? Is the team desperate, optimistic?

Jean Todt: If I was sarcastic, I would say that we've been desperate for 20 years, but nevertheless, we are here, fighting and full of hope. Let's say that's the down side of the question. The upside is that we are very proud to be Constructors champions after 16 years so that was very good. We have to hope that we start with a competitive car and we're able to challenge. It's not easy to fight for the championship three years in a row, but not be champions. It means that the car is good, the team is strong, we have good drivers, which is part of the positive package. Like all other teams, we hope that we do better this year than last year.

Q: Who do you see as your main rivals this year?

Todt: It's always difficult to see who your main rivals are. You have to look at your main rivals from the year before. If you'd asked me this question in '98, I would have said Williams but it was McLaren. Since '98 and '99, McLaren-Mercedes have been our biggest rivals and we've been theirs and I see that situation again in 2000. Probably some other teams may do very well. The Jordan-Honda was impressive last year so I think they will be competitive.

Eddie did a fantastic job for us in '99 in particular. I think we did a fantastic job for him. It will be interesting to see him with the Jaguar.

Q: Is the job getting any easier?

Todt: Yes. It's probably got easier since I arrived, because when I arrived things were probably less organised, less structured. Now we have a strong team, good organisation, good people around me. I trust them, they trust me, so things are easier. But the challenge is still fascinating but more difficult.

Q: Now Michael has two children, do you think he will become more of a family man?

Todt: Ferrari is his family as well!

Q: How are you going to manage Michael and Rubens and their respective positions within the team?

Todt: You must remember that it's the Ferrari team, so what we want is for Ferrari to achieve the best results, using the best drivers, the best engineers and the best mechanics. Michael and Rubens drive for Ferrari, and Ferrari decides that if there's a need what strategy is the best for Ferrari and then it may be in favour of one or the other. But at the moment the intention is for them to test as much as they can to develop the car and then they will get the same car. Then we will see who will get the best out of it, and then we can start to build strategies.