Wednesday, June 01, 2005
FORMULA - The International Autosport Magazine
"A little possessed with it all!"
5/26/2005 5:39:06 PM
With just time to empty and refill a suitcase since Monaco, the F1 teams are all set up in the Nurburgring paddock for this weekend?s seventh round of the world championship. Michael Schumacher?s first job was dealing with questions from the media in the FIA press conference and the journalists seemed to be hoping for a war of words between the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro driver and his brother Ralf, after the world champion tried a daring overtaking move on the Toyota man, as they approached the chequered flag in Monaco.
The press was to be disappointed, as the two brothers seem to have agreed to put the matter behind them. ?We are both highly competitive racing drivers,? said Michael. ?On the track, every driver fights for himself and his team and the fact we are brothers does not count. But, after the race, you remember you are still brothers, you are still blood relations. If you knew the two of us, you would know all the stories about this in the press are rubbish.?
The Ferrari man also revealed that he spoke to his team-mate Rubens Barrichello, whom he passed in a daring move at the chicane on the last Monaco lap. ?I rang him on the Monday after the race, as it was his birthday and all was fine.?
On to more serious matters, the German was asked for his opinion on the new qualifying format that comes into effect at this race ? only one qualifying session, with race fuel load on board, taking place on Saturday afternoon. ?Qualifying, as everyone knows has been our weak point this season,? he commented. ?So from the aspect that there is a single session, I can say that at the very least, it means we will only face this problem once, not twice!? In general terms, Schumacher was confident about this weekend. ?We have been competitive at a lot of races this year, even though we have struggled in qualifying. But I think that here we will handle the situation better.?
Knowing his love of football, Michael was also asked if Liverpool?s comeback to win the European Champions League yesterday after being 3-0 down to AC Milan, encouraged the Ferrari man in his own attempt to fight back this season. ?Do you want me to upset the Italian press?? he joked. ?It certainly proves that you have to continue to fight right to the very last moment,? he said.?
