Michael SCHUMACHER: Not so much that. I was confident that I couldn't improve. We have seen this several times this year that I didn't go because I thought it was not worth it. I simply know when I have achieved the maximum. If I make any mistake, that's my fault to the others' gain.

MS: Honestly, we were on top of the game even in Monza. If you see the fuel stop problems that we had, Rubens had a good opportunity to win this race compared to Hockenheim, where we didn't seem to be anywhere close to Williams. Here we are back sort of on a normal circuit with an infield and corner combination, that's a little bit better compared to circuits like Hockenheim and Monza, obviously. I'm pretty confident, yeah, the car is going very well all weekend. We have worked consistently and improved the car. We worked very good for our race optimisation and things are looking positive.

Mika HAKKINEN: Yeah, I saw that. I don't think that was influencing at all on my lap time in my final run.

MH: To be honest, I didn't feel any balance change in my car during qualifying.

RS: No, that was not the reason. The reason was before that, turn 4 I think it was, I just simply braked a little late and locked the front wheel and then couldn't get the turn. I think we didn't expect to be where we are now because we struggled the whole weekend to find a decent balance. We worked our way through it in the qualifying, and that's where we are now. But it's going to be a difficult race for us.

RS: A little bit of both. We have had circuits where the combination was perfect. Here it is a bit more difficult. So we'll have to wait and see what happens tomorrow. If the temperatures come more towards us, it might turn around.

MS: I hope so honestly. We have lots of supporters here in the USA, and, obviously, with all that has happened, I mentioned that a few times already, that we would like to put a smile back on the faces of the people and put a good show. And hopefully we can do that from our side in winning the race.

MS: Actually, thought there was - I thought we were fastest in the final sector for a while, weren't we? Somebody else was faster. But we have been strong all weekend in the last sector. Straightline speeds are the fastest, as well. So that's mostly correlated to each other because it's only one corner in the straight.

MS: Yeah.

MS: No, the fact is that you know when you have achieved the maximum. And when you don't have a view how to improve the car, any more without just wasting time, then - and you know you have done the best yourself for what's possible in the circumstance, then you call that it. I have done it a couple of times this year. And I thought being two-tenths up compared to the other guys, it should last. But you are never sure. But I knew I couldn't improve the time anyway.

MS: Well, it meant that we had to put an engine in that wasn't as good as the other one. That was the only worry. See, we're still quite good.

MS: You have to ask the engine people. I don't know exactly.

MS: It did feel very good, honestly. No, I can't complain at all. Even the speeds looked very good. So maybe because I felt a problem early on with the engine in the morning, maybe we had the problem very early on already and this engine, even though it's supposed to be slightly worse, actually turns out better.

MH: Definitely fantastic.

MH: It changed, but nothing major to be honest. It is like I said, small changes.

MH: It's difficult to say. Everybody works a little bit differently. Mark Williams, I have worked with him since '98 in testing and he got the opportunity at this Grand Prix to engineer. He has done great work and I'm very pleased.

MH: Second run I aborted. I wasn't going quicker and it was not smart to continue.

RS: Obviously. Always straight line, isn't it?

RS: We have just a few corners here. I mean, we haven't been really slow recently, have we? So you expect us to be up there somewhere. We might be a bit lucky due to the fact that the two team-mates of these two guys maybe didn't get the optimum amount of their car. Apart from that, we have had, as I said before in the press conference, a difficult weekend. We started a little bit slowly on the tire side, but we hope that will become better as the track and the weather is improving for tomorrow.

RS: Part of it is due to that fact, and partly, as well, on low-grip circuits we have always struggled a bit and that has become better, quite a lot. But it's still not as good as it should be maybe.

Q: Thank you. Some questions, please, from the floor.

MS: Obviously, I'm not aware of this. I don't watch the mirrors too much. And, no, I didn't notice anything I guess it was because it's freshly put in without any lap that maybe somewhere there was a bit of oil touching the exhaust, I don't know.

MS: You have a very good opportunity for overtaking manoeuvres down here, certainly. It's a very long straight which happens to give this opportunity. We do have other circuits where we have, as well, opportunities. I should go through all of them but it's a bit too long to do this now, but at least one good opportunity is here.

MS: No, actually, the other way around. If you're not up front, you still can hope within the race you might overtake and win the race.

MS: Very often what happens is that the fuel burns off, the car feels better, but the tires go off similar amount. So most of the time that equals out each other.

MS: I thought he was the second fastest. Anyway, we used to be only Mika and myself in 1999 and 2000, and '98 to some degree. Now it's my brother on top, which makes it more exciting and interesting. You have more variation within the positions over the season, and that's obviously something I enjoy at least.

MS: No, I wouldn't say.

RS: We get together every two weeks anyway, don't we?

RS: Impossible. Time was over.

MS: Yeah, true, time was over. I mean, I wouldn't have gone. I told the team before I didn't see any necessity, exactly. And that's it. I mean, no.

MS: I don't see too much risk. We always have a first corner after a start, some are tighter than others. But, why, I guess it's going to be an exciting moment for all of us to get into the first corner and see whoever is first.

MH: Turn one is definitely very wide and gives plenty opportunities for drivers to make a move before the first corner, and first corner also actually quite wide, too. If you compare to last Grand Prix, this circuit definitely the first corner seems to be much safer. I'm sure we don't have to talk about any kind of agreement here.

MH: Well, I was behind David once but it didn't give me any advantage. I think the most ideal situation would be that way the end of your run, end of your time lap when you are going around the very last or second last - third last corner to be behind the other car you get great tow and get maybe some lap time benefit. But you have to be quite close to the other car to really get the maximum tow on the straight line. If you do that, you will lose in the corners, turn 1, turn 2, and turn 3. It's very difficult. So I can't think of any advantage when I was following David and vice-versa.

MS: I didn't understand the question. Say it again.

MS: Actually, we saw that last year between the first and the last, the gap was smaller, I think, than in other circuits. Cars seem to be more close to each other. But I have no clue what is the reason - why there is a reason for that.

MS: No. We drivers have the feeling when we put the cars right in the maximum, and that's what basically tells us what can be improved or not improved. Then we know what is the technical situation what could be done on this side, and at some stage you really know that's it.

MS: I mean, I guess all of us we're so sensible that we probably should talk within thousands or hundreds, at least.

RS: Not bad, huh?

MH: Yeah, not bad.

MS: I was thinking too much about these two comments. Can you repeat the question.

MS: Certainly. That's what I have said before. That having done the championship makes you free for the individual event. You simply enjoy that and try to fight try to do the best and try to win.

MH: It's very important, indeed, the reaction time indeed. Now it is definitely different than last year. Basically the bottom of the car. Keep your foot down and that is the reaction time. When the light change you take your finger off the throttle, the car accelerates. After that, up to the electronics and mechanical parts of the car to control the traction and acceleration when you're hitting the first corner. So in one sense it's quite a change.

MS: The concern was there last year and has been taken care of this year. Pole position is one step behind the original pole position.

RS: Can't resist from smoking, that's my main problem. No, it was simply the last lap the mistake when I made that mistake I simply locked the front wheel.

MH: Definitely, because my decision and the decision with the team together, I'm very relaxed. Been able to now tell everybody what I'm going to do in the future. So I don't have to hide anything what I'm going to say. I can just focus now for the rest of the two races and try to do the maximum for myself and for the team and enjoy and take everything out of these two Grand Prix that I can. So I do feel - I feel good.

RS: So long ago I forgot. No, I know ... the tire. This could be a problem, but it is the same for both companies this weekend. (Ed' s note: Ralf speaks to his brother who is playing with his microphone before answering: It's a good thing that microphone, isn't it? It's amazing what you can do with it.) So I think we all face a similar problem.

MS: I think you have to put it the other way around. We probably would enjoy but if the team would enjoy.

MS: Certainly the tires. Bridgestone made a good effort again. That's the main factor obviously. We developed the car as well engine horsepower, but the big factor is certainly tires.

Mika Hakkinen battled for pole position against Michael Schumacher, but the Ferrari driver just got the edge by 0.2sec with Ralf Schumacher less than another tenth behind in third place.

Technical: No changes for today.

Sporting: Schumacher suffered an oil pump failure during the free practice session and had a replacement V10 installed for qualifying. Car pretty well balanced and didn't make final qualifying run to conserve rubber for the race. Barrichello tried to get a tow from Michael but lost out when he came up behind Trulli.

Quotes: Barrichello: "The track was slower on my third and fourth runs, but the car felt well balanced."

Technical: No changes for today.

Sporting: Hakkinen reported handling balance consistent throughout the session, although he did make minor changes. Aborted second run as he knew he would not be quicker. Coulthard troubled by oversteer on light fuel load.

Quotes: Coulthard: "I couldn't quite nail the car into the apex of the corners and it was actually better yesterday with more fuel, so things should be better again tomorrow."

Technical: No changes for today.

Sporting: Ralf Schumacher admitted he felt lucky that Barrichello and Coulthard didn't quite get it together as he had the usual problems experienced this year on low grip circuits. Montoya complained of traffic and not-quite perfect handling balance.

Quotes: Schumacher: "I think it could be better for us tomorrow when more rubber goes down."

Technical: No changes for today.

Sporting: Heidfeld delighted to have matched his best previous qualifying record of sixth place in Austria despite losing 0.2sec on final run when yellow flags came out for Enge's spin. Raikkonen could not find optimum balance and struggled with understeer/oversteer.

Quotes: Heidfeld: "Unfortunately I had to brake early in the second sector on my fastest lap because of Enge's crash, without which I'm sure I could have been one place higher."

Technical: No changes for today.

Sporting: Both drivers struggling badly through the infield after trading grip for lower downforce and consequent improved straight line speed on the main straight.

Quotes: Alesi: "I don't always know what direction to go with the car to make it better so that it is why it always takes some time compared with Trulli. I am very happy with this result, achieving my best lap time at the end of the session."

Technical: No changes for today.

Sporting: Fisichella unhappy with his car after it had felt quite good in the morning session. Caught yellow flag on his last run and also lost part of engine cover which flew off on the main straight. Button very happy, improving the car progressively and feeling very confident.

Quotes: Button: "I am in the top ten for the first time this year so it's fantastic. Hopefully we can do something at the start and at the first corner as well, but hope to make it round this time."

Technical: No major changes apart from set-up.

Sporting: Villeneuve freely admitted that he was struggling with grip after going in the wrong direction on chassis set-up. Panis lacked grip.

Quotes: Villeneuve: "It doesn't really have any grip and we weren't too quick on the straights at the same time. It was just undriveable."

Technical: No major changes for today.

Sporting: Battling to reduce understeer and Irvine complained of a serious front end vibrtaion after making a set-up change for the fourth run. De la Rosa admitted not getting the best out of the Michelin rubber.

Quotes: Irvine: "The last run was slower, but I really don't quite understand the problem there."

Technical: No changes for today.

Sporting: Frentzen said the car was not so bad and progress had been made on the handling balance. Enge admitted that he had improved the grip level but had too much understeer and crashed when he had a problem with the right front brake.

Frentzen: "We made a big change before qualifying, to get more focused for the race tomorrow."

Technical: No changes for today, although Alonso had to switch to spare car after engine problem in race chassis.

Sporting: Alonso described it as a perfect qualifying session and Yoong improved his time on every lap.

Quotes: Yoong: "I had some balance problems with the car, so the time wasn't really where we wanted to be."

Technical: No changes for today.

Sporting: Bernoldi developed a misfire and had to take the spare car, the first time this chassis had run all weekend. Verstappen improved his car's handling considerably since the morning but couldn't get any more speed out of it.

Quotes: Bernoldi: "My last run was the best, but we should have been higher up the grid here."

Eddie IRVINE: I think Nicky has got a lot of experience in Formula One. He's been at Ferrari for years, he's been in McLaren. I think he's seen how it's done. So I think that helps us because he knows where we are and he knows where we've got to get to. If you at least know where the goal posts are, it makes it easier.

EI: It's not a flick of a switch, you know. But he has said things that he thinks need working on and I sort of agree with him, to be honest. So that's positive.

EI: This is sometimes - like I've been in the T car twice, I've had problems. I had yellow flags and red flags, to be honest, the last two races and the T car before that. But, obviously, it's still something you've got to look at yourself and continuously monitor. That's all I can do, keep pushing and try to figure out what's going on. You know, last year I qualified consistently in the top ten; this year I'm really struggling to get anywhere near it, to be honest. So I need to figure out whether it's the car, whether it's my approach or what it is. You know, it's just a series of incidents that have gone against me.

Flavio BRIATORE: We try doing better.

FB: The last two races we try doing better. And the car is much better and the engine is improving and we are quite happy like was our program in the beginning of the season to start with the new engine completely. Our goal was to be competitive in the end of the season, preparing for ourself for Renault 2002. This was our plan and looks like the situation is much better. I hope this race and Japan we're looking stronger than before.

FB: Yeah, I think so. Basically, some accident racing involved Jarno and Jenson. But I believe it is nothing personal between the two drivers. And this is the team we have for next year and hope at the time in the same team less accident together at least.

Michael SCHUMACHER: Pretty simple, being together with the family, and especially with the kids. I did mention that yesterday already that being together with the kids, they obviously don't realize very much what has gone on. They're too young for this. They simply want to go on. They want to play and they want to enjoy life. They want to educate and develop themselves. That's when you get over it after many days, you get back to normal life.

MS: I mean, fear is obviously the wrong word, but we will have strong competition certainly. One competitor will obviously be Williams. I don't discard McLarens because they're going to be strong, in my view, too. And we'll have to see who is coming up after that. We see various teams improving the pace in the situation and you should never forget them.

Frank WILLIAMS: A Grand Prix car is a very complex piece of machinery. It just takes a lot to understand which buttons not to push, in very simple terms; and it does require experience.

FW: It was for him, too.

FW: He changed a bit after Montreal in his approach.

FW: Well, the keyword I use was "approach." That means a number of things, his own attitude, the way he goes to work.

FW: I should clarify. We didn't loan Jenson to Flabio. Jenson was free to look after his own affairs for two years if we didn't take up the option; and we didn't take up his option on his second year.

FW: I'd say definitely the team, unfortunately from our point of view, is getting very strong now. They could have a winning vehicle next year.

FW: I hope so. (Laughter)

Eddie JORDAN: A little bit richer, perhaps. (Laughter) Hopefully a little bit wiser. I think it's inappropriate to be being barracked [Ed' note: part of the answer inaudible since Eddie Irvine taled at the same moment] here from behind with Mr. Irvine. But money is the least important thing in his life. (Laughter) But on that basis he told me just recently before he started one of his ex-teammates is no longer in Formula One because he was too nice a guy; and if you apply that logic, I reckon Irvine is here for life. (Laughter)

EI: The two of us.

EJ: But I also might make the point to the person, the journalist who's asking these questions, that I take offense and I think it's wholly inappropriate that you should be wearing a BMW jacket. (Laughter) Sorry, what was the question? (Laughter) Frank, what was he saying? He's a tosser, isn't he? Look at him. (Laughter)

EJ: Go on. What do you want to know? Oh, yeah, Jean. He's got a better looking wife now. (Laughter) He's richer, he has a bigger boat, a better plane and he's a super guy. (Laughter)

EJ: Honestly, I haven't got a clue. (Laughter). No, I think both of them are very impressive. What is interesting for particularly the guys who have been around a bit, that there is a group of young lads coming who - I think life goes in circles anyway. It just seems to be coming that there's a number of young drivers who have a really strong ability and it's trying to find the correct one. Because, as Michael said, you used the word "fear" and I think perhaps it was somewhat inappropriate. But who would he look out for in cases, and I think for Michael it's - there's a group of very good drivers there in Formula One at the moment, but maybe it will need somebody new who, like Michael was, we all were in total awe of the great Ayrton Senna but it needed somebody new who had not been there at the early stages of Senna's career to come and not be, if you like - I mean, let's be very clear. A young driver and the drivers in Formula One, when they see Michael coming up to lap them, they move out of the way. They need somebody who's different to that.

Gerhard BERGER: Well, I think really he's a great guy. I like him very much because we spent five years together and it's always good fun with him. He has a big heart. He's still, in some ways, still a bit a child; but it's great to have him here. I think he has a lot of fans, he still has a lot of fans around the world that like to watch him drive and like to watch him acting. He's unpredictable. Ask Flabio. He's really a great guy. It's good to have him here and I hope he's going to do a hundred of more races.

GB: Well, I would say watching Juan Pablo this year, I think he is a great talent. He has a lot of natural talent, a lot of car control. But he's still not able to use every weekend, the potential of the car to the optimum. Simple experience, reason. He just needs a bit more time, a bit more races to use all the tools what you have in Formula One to the optimum. So in some race circuits we see him doing a fantastic job, some others he's still driving very good but he cannot get the job done because the car is not right or he couldn't get the car setup right. So I think we're just going to see his real potential next year. This year was a bit too much at once. He had to learn some circuits, he had to learn to know the team. So for this he did a very, very good job. I think sometimes we forget how short he is in here. I think we're going to see a lot of good races of him in the future.

EI: It's better this year than it was last year because we came with such a hard tire. There was no grip and it was really, really tough to drive the circuit; and our car wasn't the best anyway here. But, yeah, it's not the best circuit in the world; but, you know, we have four walls around it with a golf course here. If this is the best that they can do, then that's the best they can do. If it's possible to do better, it would be great if they tried to do a bit better. I don't know what the situation is. Obviously, they designed this circuit and maybe with the golf course and the layout with the oval, it's impossible to do anything better. I don't know. It's for me it's better for me this year than last year for sure to drive because there's just more pure grip.

MS: I mean, basically the problem you face here is, and most drivers I guess agree on that, it's not the most challenging circuit. And the problem is that you have an oval which you adapted to and all the kind of Formula One racing circuit which always is a compromise at the end of the day. That's the way it ended up, being a compromise in terms of challenge to us. We like coming here to the country. Obviously, the country is great and we like to spend the time. But then you can't have 17 number-one circuits. There's only one at the end of the day.

EI: I would like to think so, but we've been up there before on Friday and we haven't managed to do it on Saturday. We had no problems at all with the car today, which is probably the first time I've had that in a long time. So we'll see. Friday is always a weird day. We didn't normally do the things that we do on Friday because the situation is slightly different here. So it's too early to say. Come 2:00, we all know.

FW: The overwhelming experience or sentiment in the team is one of deep anxiety, anxiety we can keep it going. (Laughter)

MS: We're going to use them tomorrow. The FIA was still in setup procedure, we couldn't use them. For sure in the morning.

EJ: Yes, I understand we didn't put them on today but it is on for tomorrow or I understand that it's on for tomorrow.

FW: We're waiting on it.

FB: I don't know.

MS: Obviously, if you go back to Indy 500, the history and the meaning of it, and then the first Formula One race, it does mean something special to put yourself into the book as the first winner of that particular Grand Prix last year, certainly.

MS: I guess the track actually has been up to 25. Maybe the ambient was down to 14, to our measurements at least. Because what you see in the monitors is not always correct. But, honestly, these kind of cold temperatures make you go faster rather than slower. Because very often in wintertime you see very good times, asphalt is cold, tires are nice and cold. There is a kind of optimum temperature. Depending the circuit, it varies. But this is very good temperatures for us.

FW: I spoke to his wife about a week ago and he clearly wasn't taking calls at that time. She didn't want him to have any visitors until the end of the week we're in now. I wasn't able to travel before then. But I intend to go and see him towards the end of next week.

EJ: As I've already mentioned, we've tested a number of drivers in the last week, Wilson for one, Karthikeyan for another, the young boy in Prost's car, Tomas Enge, we tested him last year and he was our test driver. And we did test already a year ago, or less than a year ago, Sato. I think you'll find Sato is probably contracted or still under contract to BAR. I believe he's quick. I think if you check his record, he's won more Formula Three races than anyone in the British series before. Although, it has slightly changed, there are two races now on some days. So a lot of these are confusing and you don't really know how good the competition is. But one thing for sure, he is a very big talent if that's what you are talking about. But there are a lot of good drivers up and coming. I think there is a resurgence personally and it's to get the right one. But, sure, yes, I mean if there's five or six drivers you're looking at, of course, Sato would be one of them.

FW: The wall hit him. (Laughter)

MS: I mean, first of all, I think we should say despite the way things have ended, the kind of discussion have made drivers aware of that particular situation and probably except one, everybody behaved very good. This is obviously a very good and positive situation which for sure came through the discussion. We had to make the drivers aware of the situation and just be a little bit more careful. I said at various times already that I don't agree with, like with what Flabio has done to his drivers or some other team principles to basically tell the drivers what to do. The drivers are there to drive, they know how to do this job. I guess Flabio has never sit in any racing car so far. He doesn't know what it feels like; and, therefore, it's a little bit inappropriate to tell the drivers what to do. But that's his decision and not my decision. But what is obviously not so good is that you use the weakness of some drivers and simply tell them what to do and you know they can't do anything against that.

MS: No, it's quite true that Ferrari even in Monza was very open and said if I feel it's not the right time to race, they would leave the decision with me what to do. And I thought that was very fair from the team to both drivers, honestly. Nobody knew what was going to happen from Monza on. I felt kind of obliged to race in Monza for all the Italians to see. On the other side, I never really had a doubt if things would improve and sort of come back to normal life, not to race in Indy. That was never a doubt for me. As things had improved and had come back to normal life, that's why I'm here and I keep racing. I mean, I'm a racing driver, I intend to race for some more years and I want to give obviously the best. I guess it's the same for all of us. If things would have become difficult or war would have started, then probably none of us would have liked to see a race down here.

MS: No, simply because of the conditions, yes.

MS: Honestly, I have never really looked into it and thought about it because I simply don't see a point in it. There's two reasons for it. First of all, I feel it is too dangerous from my point of view. The second point is I feel Formula One is the highest challenge you can have in motor racing. So, obviously, I'm doing well here and I don't see a point to prove anything in an Indy race, IndyCar or Champ Car or whatever.

FB: Different head, different idea. I believe it was not only me, was BAR - who's the man? Pollock was in the same line. Everything I see, for me it was the approach of the drivers was wrong. Thursday, the drivers at the briefing, nobody talking about any kind of new start. Then I feel it was unfair Sunday midday to hear this news. I talked with my drivers and this is not true all the drivers was together because Fisichella basically tell me "I want to start normally but Schumacher decide for everybody." Everybody now is with Michael. Button was not so strong as well.

MS: I didn't know you were there.

FB: This was Fisichella. Michael is in the position of the driver, at the same time he is the team manager as well. He made the decision for both. I made the decision for - I only team manager and I try to do the best for my drivers and best for the team. Especially Fisichella was not the guy telling me I don't want to start, he tell me "I do what you want but I'm not convinced to start with the yellow flag. Simple as that." I not see the position so strong. Villeneuve was not strong at all, Panis was not so strong. I mean, I believe it was the approach. If the drivers come to us Thursday and nicely talking, maybe we find a solution. Not Sunday midday before the race.

FB: You know, I'm not for any advantage in that because we're not in the pole position. Only Gerhard and Frank have advantage if you say that. Absolutely not. Jenson tried to do the better start that was possible and had the accident and this happened.

EI: That's not really a question for me. You know, I'm the driver and I reported to Bobby what I thought and reported to Nicky what I thought. Really, everything led from, you know, what Nicky was saying and really Bobby obviously had his bits and pieces to do over here. If you look at Frank Williams, if you look at Ron Dennis and Jean Todt, they live for Formula One, they die for Formula One; and I think that's what we need.

MS: Actually, true. If you look in terms of the age around from other drivers, I'm getting to more the older drivers, but that's the nature. I know I'm not going to be around for ten years, but we'll see how long it's going to last.

FW: January.

EJ: If we're lucky, January. (Laughter) I don't know how they can do it. It's impossible to do it. So much time left to try and consider and develop a car. It's impossible for us to do it in December.

FB: January.

FW: I did speak to him when he was here last year but I didn't - I was most definitely not his inspiration. That came from within him.

Cool conditions prevailed for much of the free practice sessions in which Mika Hakkinen emerged fastest after losing the first hour with an engine problem. Michael Schumacher, consistently quick throughout, wound up second ahead of team-mate Rubens Barrichello.

Technical: No major changes in specification apart from set-up differences specifically for this circuit.

Sporting: Hakkinen lost first hour-long session with pneumatic valvegear failure which required an engine change in 40 minutes. Only one lap completed in first hour, then quickest in second hour. Coulthard no major problems, but both had slight oversteer on green track.

Quotes: Ron Dennis: "A good, prompt engine change by the mechanics, but otherwise quite a straightforward day."

Technical: No major changes for this race apart from specific set-up changes.

Sporting: Schumacher reporting that the biggest challenge seemed to be making the right choice between tyre compounds. He reckoned the soft compound gave excellent grip, but was concerned about wear rates. Barrichello just happy to have become a father for the first time earlier this week.

Quotes: Schumacher: "We have to work a little more on our detailed set-up."

Technical: No changes to the cars for this race.

Sporting: Good times from both cars after strong runs getting the most out of their Michelins. Carried out tyre comparison work and de la Rosa complained of a little understeer. Track grip improved as rubber went down.

Quotes: De la Rosa: "We need a little more grip on the infield, but then we tried for more downforce and we lost too much time on the straights."

Technical: No technical changes to the cars for this race.

Sporting: Raikkonen finished the session early on, happy after a routine 10 lap run. Heidfeld reported that his C20 felt better on worn rubber and had a better balance than on new tyres.

Quotes: Heidfeld: "We made a lot of changes to the car during the two sessions, and most of them made its better."

Technical: No changes to specification.

Sporting: Frentzen reported a touch of understeer but still confirmed that the set-up was basically good. Came in slowly at one point with throttle problems and the mechanics also found a broken gearbox mounting. Enge had big oversteer on exit of turn eight and spun.

Quotes: Enge: "Despite my spin, I think this was a pretty good session for me."

Technical: Top exit exhausts being evaluated during the day.

Sporting: Montoya admitted to a tough day, fighting balance on the infield which he found excessively tight. Schumacher said first day reminded him of same session last year, needing more grip and rubber on the circuit.

Quotes: Schumacher: "I'm pretty confident that conditions will be better tomorrow."

Technical: No major changes to car specification.

Sporting: Both drivers worked through a routine race set-up programme during the two sessions, although Alesi's running time was compromised by an electronic software problem. Trulli spun twice as he struggled to improve the balance.

Quotes: Trulli: "We changed the tyres and the car felt much better this afternoon."

Technical: No major changes for this race.

Sporting: Fisichella had a good run in the first hour-long session, but then spun into the gravel four minutes into the second hour. Button reported too much oversteer, but was generally quite happy with the car.

Quotes: Fisichella: "On the first lap of the second session we made some alterations to the car which improved the set-up even further, but unfortunately I lost control and went into the gravel."

Technical: No major changes for this race.

Sporting: Both drivers reported car felt comfortable and quite secure, good fun to drive. Panis said circuit quite good for overtaking. Villeneuve troubled by an apparent power steering problem.

Quotes: Villeneuve: "The steering seemed over-heavy, but the engineers couldn't find the problem and we'll have to take a close look at the data."

Technical: Alonso using new gearbox spec car for this race and Yoong still using earlier spec car.

Sporting: Alonso moderately content while Yoong spent his time learning the circuit.

Quotes: Alonso: "Quite a promising day for us."

Technical: No major changes for this race.

Sporting: Verstappen electrical problem at the start of the second session which cost him a lot of time. Bernoldi admitted they'd gone the wrong way of set-up.

Quotes: Bernoldi: "We went the wrong way on set-up this morning which wasted a bit of time, but we were soon back on track."

Pedro DE LA ROSA: Well, it's meant that finally we put together in a whole weekend a good performance from Friday to Saturday and Sunday. Basically, our biggest weakest point was that on the previous races we were quick on Saturday maybe and then we were not quick on the race; and when we qualified badly, we were quick on the race and not qualifying. Basically, we put together a strong performance from a team point of view. Strategy was very good and from driving point of view. So finally we made it.

PDR: Well, several things we have to improve, not only in high down force. But we don't know how competitive we will be here because it's such an unusual circuit here, low down force. But then you need to be quick on the very tight corners with no down force in the car. So we'll see how we adapt to this very particular circuit.

PDR: No, no, I was here.

PDR: Good memory. (Laughter)

So what are your own feelings about coming back here?

PDR: It's a good racing track because it's very long straight, so overtaking is not very difficult. And apart from that, I'm not - I don't really like the infield section, I think it could be a little bit better with more challenging corners, which is too slow. But nothing apart from that. I think the racing here is interesting which is the main thing.

Juan Pablo MONTOYA: I thought, you know, big relief. We've been working for it really hard all year long and there's few occasions we had chance to win and didn't came and now I think I was patient enough that it came; and it feels good.

JPM: We have to wait and see. I haven't even started the weekend, my first time here. It's going to be quite interesting road course. We'll see what happens, you know. We'll see.

JPM: Yeah, but it's completely different. I think last time Jacques was here, he won as well. No, not last time, the one before. Sorry.

I don't know, we'll see. The track should suit the car quite well. You know, long straights, we've got a lot of power. So should be quite a good race for us.

JPM: Not really. I haven't found anything different. It's just, you know, you work really hard for it and suddenly it just comes. I didn't really expect after Rubens passed me, I didn't really expect to win because he was so much quicker. I just tried to keep pushing all the race and I went into the pits really early and it came into my hands.

JPM: Well, you know, in CART, essentially the cars are completely different. The atmosphere is a lot more relaxed there and it's quite amazing. Some people complain because they not allow people here in the paddock but it's too many people in the CART paddock and you can't even walk.

JPM: That was quite tough, you know, because there's mainly English fans, most of them are Formula One fans. They see you suddenly walking in the paddock, it's something new for them.

Jacques VILLENEUVE: Yeah, yeah, definitely. It's probably - the fans probably feel greater they can walk down the paddock in CART but it just makes your life very difficult when you're trying to work professionally. So as a driver, I enjoy being in the F1 paddock a lot more just because we can concentrate on our work better.

JV: Great memories here, definitely. Having won here, it opened the door to Williams for '96. So it's been a very important race and I will always remember it, of course.

JV: Well, it's strange to be here and to not be racing on the oval. So that makes it a little bit strange. But it's a fun track to drive; but, as Pedro was saying, it's not very interesting. There's no corner where your heartbeat goes up. It's more like, you know, playing with go-karts with your friends. That's how it feels a little bit; but, it's good for racing because you have the long straight line, so that's a good thing.

Mika HAKKINEN: Well, it would be still correct to win some races, to be honest, is the goal and I have a commitment to the team to finish the season. So I'm going to go for it in these two races.

MH: Well, there's definitely plenty of different elements and we really haven't sat down yet to talk about it. But certainly I have plenty of experience in the past with the team and Formula One in general. So certainly there could be a lot of help what I can give and start giving examples. This is not maybe the right time.

MH: Certainly.

MH: Well, I'm going to take it easy one year. I'm going to see what it feels like and I have all the doors open. So at the moment the plan is just take it easy and see what happens. But I think after a few months, four or five months, I could start feeling that way and I want to come back. We'll see.

MH: There are certain plans, but it's too early stages to talk about it. My main target is just to relax and take it easy and see what comes. Always there is plenty of different offers what people has come up to me and just have to decide what I'm going to do.

MH: Definitely, no.

Kimi RAIKKONEN: No, for sure not. Because I think at the same time last year I even didn't know that I would race in Formula One this year. Suddenly I had a chance to call McLaren and I'm very happy to go there.

KR: Yeah, of course, things have happened very quickly for me in the last two years but I think it's only in a positive way that the things are going and I'm only looking forward.

KR: No.

MH: What a question you have today. My gosh, give me a break.

KR: He's my friend and, of course, I can learn lots from Mika and he has experience with the team and he can help me.

KM: Yeah, for sure. They're waiting, they're expecting lots of things from me; but also I had a big push this year to start - came from Formula Renault to Formula One and improve myself in Formula One. So I think it's not going to be any bigger pressure than big enough this year.

KM: I don't know. But, for sure, it's helping if somebody like Mika who knows what the team is doing and the beginning for sure it's going to be a help if he want to help me and I will listen if he has something to say to me.

KM: Don't know yet really.

MH: I'm sure the driving points are going to definitely - Kimi can handle that, you know, like you have seen.

MH: I think pressure is something which is very personal thing. Either you can handle it or you can handle it less. Everybody is different and everybody handles the pressure differently. I think if you talk with Kimi, for example, he's been handling the pressure this year starting the first season, you know. I think has been extremely good.

JV: Well, racing can be very exciting but when you watch TV, it's the commentating that can make or break the excitement that is there or is not there. I think Murray has been a very big part of that. That's been a very big help in the UK and actually even - I have a lot of friends who have been watching the race in Canada and they were talking about the entertainment of watching Murray commentating the race.

MH: I think Murray, when he's going to go, is going to be a loss, a loss for Formula One. I think certainly in England basically, because at least his commentating in England is very spectacular.

And always Murray has been supporting McLaren big way all the time. I'm very happy for that. (Laughter)

But you can always come back, you know. (Laughter)

JPM: I experienced actually Murray more on TV than life. When I was racing in England in the smaller series, I used to watch always the race and he was the commentator; and he was really good.

PDR: I just remember when I was racing in Formula Three, Murray commentated one of my races. I just have that image of him commentating a Formula Three race, not only Formula One; and I thought it was incredible. He didn't make any mistake, also. (Laughter)

I must say that I'm not sure how the British people are going to react about watching a race without his voice. It will be very, very strange. We'll miss you from our side; but, as Mika said, maybe you come back.

KR: Not much but like last year I spent quite a bit time in England. Sometimes when I had the time I watched a Formula One race and there was always very good commentators.

MH: I definitely feel there's very fair support from the team, definitely. I have no problems at all.

JV: Well, as I said before, it's a fun racetrack. The infield is not exciting but the way you could drive it, you could actually work, you could work and you would always be sliding a little bit and you could work yourself on getting closer to someone so you could have a shot at them down the main straight. It wasn't sufficient to be quick just in one part of the track. If you were just quick in the straight but very slow in the corners, then you couldn't race anyone, and vice versa. So that made it actually a lot of fun. The straight line is longer than it looks just because we get onto it before the banked corner, before turn one or the last corner for us. So I just remember it being a lot of fun, more like a game than a race.

JV: Well, our car didn't seem to be suited to any track this year, so I don't think there will be anything special here. (Laughter)

But we seem to be always a lot better off in the races than in qualifying. This being a track where you can overtake, then that's one of the tracks where we should be able to get in the points.

MH: I think just what you said, those things. I think all of those are not as extremely true, but part of it, yes. I think being in Formula One for so many years, it's the time when you feel that way, you achieved a lot and then you start getting to the time when you're getting tired and you kind of really cannot a hundred percent focus anymore and you don't do any good for yourself and you don't do any good for the team. So that's why the decision to take a break was the right decision.

They're shaking their heads.

JPM: Yeah.

PDR: I'm physically okay, are you? (Laughter)

JV: Well, you know, once you got in the race in Monza, nothing else existed for this hour and a half of racing. That's how it should be in anything you do. There's been more time since Monza and, you know, everything is different, there's been a big change. The shock is still there but you just have to go along. There's no reason for us to do anything different here.

MH: No, I agree with Jacques.

Yeah,

JV: You probably could go back to turn three and use the other back straight and have two long straights. (Laughter)

JV: Either you make two interesting corners and get back on the straights or have a lot of very tight and go-kart type of corners. There's a certain amount of space and the more corners you put in the amount of space, the more illogical and - yeah, it becomes very Mickey Mouse, the track.

If you look at all the tracks that were made in the last ten years - no, the five years, most modern tracks, there is a small piece of land and let's put as many corners as we can in this piece of land. There is never any logic to the layout of the track.

PDR: Yeah, I agree completely. We have to lengthen the track. That's one of the most important things. It's one of the shortest circuits. Lap times was 1:14, I think, was pole position, this year it will be even quicker. So we are looking at the 1:12 lap time, I think it's too short. So we need to lengthen the track, make it more interesting with a couple of corners, more quicker corners. If we can use the back straight which, I don't know, would be a very good idea because then you increase the overtaking opportunities to double. And that's it. I mean this is what we want and it's up to the organizers to say if it's possible or not.

MH: No, we do speak the Finnish when we're having a conversation. I don't think Kimi has any kind of accent. I'm close by Helsinki in the capital, and I don't feel I have any kind of accent. What do you think, Kimi?

KR: No, I don't think so either. I also live very close to Helsinki and all the people speak very normal in there. (Laughter)

MH: Well, not probably so much - well, maybe it's bad to call holiday together, to be honest. It was just the one week - or was it two weeks? I think one week.

It's not definitely a concentration and discussing about the motor racing all the time. There's a lot of subjects, other things - and it's better I don't go into details. (Laughter)

MH: Kimi can say.

KR: No, we just spoke and we had some good fun on there, and that's all.

MH: Sorry?

MH: It was definitely last year a very positive experience to come down here and to drive the track. I think it was very positive. I found it was very - it was more - it was easier than I expected. I mean to drive the track, it was easier than I expected. And the way the things were organized around the track, I think it was fantastic considering it was the first Grand Prix in the U.S. last year. So I think in terms of organization, it was really fantastic.

MH: Sure, sure.

MH: Yeah, it was pretty good.

KR: Yeah, I think so. It's made life a bit more easier to come to Formula One if you have like Mika from Finland, also. If I have some things that I want to ask from him, probably he can help me. It's always easier than if you would be alone here and you want to ask from someone, you don't have any people to go and ask help. For sure, this year has been very interesting for me and has been lots of fun. I've really enjoyed it.

Juan Pablo MONTOYA: I'm sorry happy. First of all, I want to thank everyone at Williams, BMW, Michelin. They've done a fantastic job for me and I'm just so pleased with the result.

Rubens BARRICHELLO: I'm not really sure what happened. We lost a lot of time but as I said before, we put on a great show. The car was very good, Bridgestone did a fantastic job with the tyres and we were very competitive with the engine as well so it was great. But unfortunately we lost that little bit and it wasn't enough to win the race.

Ralf SCHUMACHER: No I must say we didn't get the right the whole weekend basically. We had a few problems with tyres but the team did a fantastic job in finishing first and third and I think that's a great achievement and so big thanks to the team.

JPM: I think it's going to be a very emotional race for everybody. I'm very happy to go back there. Last time I was there I won. I've taken by first Formula One win now. The car should work pretty well there, so it should be quite interesting.

JPM: Not really, no. Considering it's my first year I wasn't really expecting to win when I came in. I had a couple of opportunities where I could have won it and I just said 'when the time is meant to come it will come.' I think it's a great day for me. My father is here, it's his birthday today so it's pretty good.

JPM: Yes, it's good. Exactly a year ago was my last win in CART, so that's pretty good.

JPM: I got a blister on a rear tyre and I started sliding under braking. I made a mistake and he just passed me. Afterwards it took me a couple of laps to get back in the groove and I learned to really drive the car with that amount of oversteer and actually at the end of the run I was fairly quick. Then I think they went a bit too extreme with the front wing when I came in. We decided to take two holes out and it was a bit too much too much, so for half of the next run I had tons of understeer everywhere. Then it got better and better. The speed was there when I needed to turn it on. I was turning low 1m 26s all the time which was good enough. When they told me Ralf was catching me I went down to 1m 25s and my car was still competitive so it was still really good.

JPM: Initially, when I came into the first stop, I left the pits and I thought it should be pretty good with new tyres and everything, it should be fairly good and when I left, I had massive understeer everywhere and I thought I was going to be really slow.

RB: I think to beat the Williams today it was definitely the right strategy, I think Ross Brawn was magic in thinking of that and giving us an opportunity to fight.

RB: Juan Pablo had a problem with the rear tyres, he locked up when he saw that I was coming on the inside, we just had a fair fight and I went through. Ralf was struggling with the rear tyres too, I saw he was struggling on brakes into Turn 1 as well and so I thought I would brake a little earlier so we could both get through, he wanted to go on the outside and couldn't go through the chicane so we both lost time but it was okay.

RS: The position belonged to him anyway and I had big problems at that moment, my rear tyres wouldn't behave any more so I defended to a point where I thought it was reasonable and that was it.

RS: It happens. That's what we are here for, sometimes he gets overtaken and sometimes I get overtaken. It was a fair fight, obviously he had a lighter car. I was one of the heaviest anyway in the front and from the beginning I had a very big oversteer, which then turned into blisters and I got used to the blisters and was able to drive at a reasonable pace.

RB: When we would go to a normal weekend before the Michael won the championship you would go thinking that he would get the first treatment because he had the chance to win the championship. That's the only thing that differs. We have equal rteatment and we are allowed to race each other basically. I had a weekend when I performed really well, one of my best weekends. I could go for it in qualifying, I could go for it in the race and the team have helped quite a good amount.

JPM: We tried to have an agreement and we didn't do it. I think that actually helped because everybody was very reasonable about the start, we had a very clean start, and going to America I don't see really a problem. If the race is going to go on it will go on, there's not much we can do about it now.

RB: It's bad when you have an agreement and just one guy doesn't want to do it but that's pretty much life. At the end of the day there were drivers told by their team managers they couldn't do it as well. I don't think they were thinking - they were very material just 'work, work, work' and couldn't just stop to think that there was something going on behind us. This weekend has been very dark, not only for what happened in the US but what happened to Zanardi yesterday I couldn't stop thinking about him to be honest. So for a moment we had an agreement because it was only fair, you have an agreement to brake 200 metres before the corners where we saw last year a hell of a problem and luckily I think everyone had the patience to do it. I love to go to America, we just have to see if we're safe or not. People are not even traveling there yet so we have to see but I love to go there the race is great and the atmosphere is great.

RS: I've already made a couple of comments and I don't want to comment any more thank you.

JPM: I think it's not only Colombia but all my fans. Everyone that's been supporting me I want to say thanks, it was a tough season so far, we had good and bad results, a lot of bad luck and now we turn another page. Three poles and a win is not so bad.

Giancarlo Fisichella and Nick Heidfeld run into problems with their race cars on the pre-grid and so they both head for the pitlane and switch to their spare cars. Both men have to start from the pitlane.

* Lap 1: At the start pole position man Juan Pablo Montoya takes the lead with Rubens Barrichello is second with Michael Schumacher third. At the first chicane Ralf Schumacher gets ahead of his brother Michael. Further back there is an incident as Jenson Button tips Jarno Trulli into a spin. Trulli retires. Button loses his front wing and goes into the pits at the end of the lap for repairs. Mika Hakkinen goes through the chicane to avoid making contact as the midfield is tightly bunched. Hakkinen drops a long way back through the field. At the exit of the second chicane Michael Schumacher challenges Ralf for third place and goes ahead as they go into the first Lesmo Corner. Behind the front four David Coulthard runs fifth with Pedro de la Rosa sixth. Eddie Irvine is seventh after avoiding all the excitement at the first corner while Jos Verstappen is up to eighth from 19th on the grid.

* Lap 2: Montoya tries to build up a lead but he cannot get away from Barrichello and Schumacher M. Ralf Schumacher is unable to keep up but is still well ahead of Coulthard and the rest. In the course of the second lap 10th placed Jacques Villeneuve drops behind Enrique Bernoldi.

* Lap 3: Irvine begins to fade, being overtaken by Verstappen and Kimi Raikkonen.

* Lap 4: The gaps at the front begin to extend with Montoya eight-tenths ahead of Barrichello and Michael Schumacher 1.1 seconds behind his team mate. Further back Irvine falls behind Jean Alesi, Bernoldi and Villeneuve.

* Lap 5: De la Rosa drops from sixth to ninth, falling behind Verstappen, Raikkonen and Alesi. Further back F1 debutant Tomas Enge drops from 16th to 19th. At the tail of the field Button retires with an engine problem.

* Lap 6: Irvine slips further back down the field, falling behind Hakkinen, Olivier Panis and Heinz-Harald Frentzen.

* Lap 7: Coulthard retires with an engine failure. This promotes Verstappen to fifth place with Raikkonen sixth. Behind them Villeneuve passes Bernoldi to move to ninth. At the tail of the field Fernando Alonso passes Irvine.

* Lap 8: Irvine's downward progress continued as he falls behind Heidfeld, Fisichella and Enge.

* Lap 9: Montoya is slow out of the second chicane and Barrichello was able to take the lead, while Montoya was left to fight off Schumacher. Rubens immediately begins to pull away, suggesting that he has a lighter fuel load than the Williams.

* Lap 12: Barrichello's lead is up to more than three seconds while Montoya continues to battle with Michael Schumacher. Jean Alesi passes Raikkonen to take sixth place.

* Lap 13: Barrichello's lead goes over five seconds while in the midfield Hakkinen overtakes Bernoldi to move to 10th.

* Lap 14: Irvine pits and retires with a mechanical problem.

* Lap 16: As Barrichello's lead extends to nearly nine seconds, Montoya continues to hold back Michael Schumacher. There is then a gap to Ralf Schumacher. Alesi and Raikkonen overtake Verstappen to push the Arrows driver down to seventh place. At the tail of the field F1 debutant Alex Yoong spins his Minardi in the Lesmos but is able to rejoin at the tail of the field.

* Lap 17: The first pit stops begin with Alonso stopping. The Minardi driver drops from 16th to 18th.

* Lap 18: Michael Schumacher and Verstappen both pit. The Ferrari rejoins in fourth while Verstappen drops from seventh to 15th.

* Lap 19: Barrichello stops and so Montoya moves into the lead. The Ferrari stop goes wrong with the team needing to switch refuelling hoses and the car is at rest for more than 16 seconds. Rubens rejoins in third, still ahead of his team mate Michael Schumacher.

* Lap 20: Ninth-placed Hakkinen retires at the first chicane with a mechanical problem.

* Lap 22: Alesi and Raikkonen both pit. Alesi rejoins in seventh place but Raikkonen has a long stop and falls back to 13th.

* Lap 26: Verstappen retires his Arrows.

* Lap 27: The first of the one-stop racers comes into the pitlane. Bernoldi dropping from 12th place to 14th. Yoong also stops.

* Lap 28: The leader Montoya stops. This allows Ralf Schumacher to go into the lead. Barrichello is second with Montoya rejoining in third. In the midfield Heidfeld pits but manages to hold on to 12th place.

* Lap 29: Frentzen retires from ninth place with a mechanical problem.

* Lap 30: Ninth-placed Fisichella stops and drops behind Raikkonen and Enge.

* Lap 32: Alesi, Panis and Enge all pit for their mid-race stops.

* Lap 33: Sixth-placed Villeneuve stops but manages to stay ahead of Raikkonen and Alesi. At the back of the field Alonso has his stop and drops from 13th to 14th.

* Lap 35: Ralf Schumacher finally pits. This puts Barrichello back into the lead but Montoya is only 15 seconds behind him and waiting for Barrichello to stop again.

* Lap 36: De la Rosa is the last man to make his first pit stop. He is able to hold on to fifth place.

* Lap 40: Michael Schumacher pits for the second time and drops from third to fourth, falling behind his brother Ralf.

* Lap 41: Montoya takes the lead when Barrichello pits. Ralf Schumacher moves up to second but Barrichello is right on his tail.

* Lap 43: As the field has now settled down there is little action but at the back Enge overtakes Bernoldi for 12th place.

* Lap 47: Barrichello overtakes Ralf Schumacher at the first corner to move to second place. At the tail of the field Yoong and Bernoldi both go off an retire.

* Lap 53: Montoya wins his first Grand Prix victory. Barrichello is second with Ralf Schumacher third. Michael Schumacher is fourth ahead of de la Rosa's Jaguar and Villeneuve's BAR. The last man unlapped is Raikkonen with Alesi not far behind.