Q: Michael, a stunning four stop victory today in the French Grand Prix, but at what stage of the race did you switch to that four stop strategy?
Michael Schumacher: Basically after the second pit stop, we decided to go for that. Towards the back it was clear there wasn't really a challenge; there was only the challenge forward. We knew it was optimistic but no risk, no fun so Ross decided for it and it was just brilliant, not only the strategy but the teamwork again in terms of pit stops, the guys have just done fantastic pit stops, very precise, very prestigious and just unbelievable. I wasn't really so optimistic going into the race but our tyres today worked fantastically well towards the end of the stint, whereas our competitors struggled, and that was one of the key issues why we were able to close the gaps before pit stops and then attack and go for the strategy.

Q: Astonishingly, though, this is one of the circuits with the slower pit lane speed limit of eighty kilometres per hour. Did that come into the thinking at all?
MS: Certainly you calculate all this as well, but on the other hand it's a rather short one, so I think it evens out compared to other circuits but it's all included in the calculations. But as I said, there was no risk to fall back, there was only the opportunity to go forward and we did it.

Q: Well, as it happened, when you came out after that fourth stop, you still had a seven second lead over Fernando. Were you surprised by that?
MS: In a way yes, in a way not. I was surprised after my second pit stop how good Fernando was able to keep on me because according to our calculations, he was able to stay (out) a lot longer than we thought and to do the pace he was doing that was obviously concerning. At that stage, we were thinking we were behind schedule. Then we saw him pulling in very early, putting in a lot of fuel for his last stint and that was our opportunity because his tyres, from my point of view, struggled a little bit towards the later end, and having so much fuel was our opportunity to open the gap we did, and that's why we were where we were.

Q: Fernando, Michael in a way has said what happened to you there: a lot of fuel in that third stint of yours…
Fernando Alonso: Yeah, a lot of fuel. Well, I didn't understand also the strategy. I think we changed a little bit the plan we had at the beginning basically because Ferrari stopped very early in all the stints and I think we tried to protect ourselves a little bit in the third stint and we changed a little bit… and to carry so much fuel was a little bit of a penalty at that point. But anyway, I think we did the maximum we could today. We pushed from the beginning to the end, and maybe second position was the maximum target we could achieve today.

Q: Well, you certainly pushed from the beginning. It was a great start and great opening few laps of the race too.
FA: Yeah, the start was quite clear. No problems, I started good and then I pushed in the first stint. I saw Michael come into the pits quite early and I kept pushing during the three laps that I had and then after the first pit stop, I was in the lead position again and when Michael stopped very early again for the second stint, I think the team was a little bit surprised. I was surprised and after my second stop, Michael was in front with a good gap, so in those laps I think Michael was pushing very hard and it was impossible for us to keep up that pace.

Q: Based on Michael's pit stop times, were you and the team aware that he was doing a four stop race?
FA: Yeah, at the end, yes. After the third stop, regarding the lap and the fuel time, we knew that the fourth stop was coming, but even with that, it was difficult to be close to him.

Q: Rubens, a fantastic race from tenth on the grid eventually to finish third at the last corner.
Rubens Barrichello: It was a great race and I must say that people have been very fair on the race track. I had no problems at all. I had a very fast car so in a way, I was sorry that I had the hydraulic problem yesterday in pre-qualifying, because being first in qualifying was really a penalty but I was playing my cards and playing everything I had. I think Jarno, unfortunately for him, made a mistake slowing down a bit too much on the exit of turn 13 and I was able to pull alongside him in 15. It was risky but I took the risk because I thought it was worth it. So I'm very glad for myself and for the team that we could pull from tenth to third.

Q: Michael, as we look ahead to the British Grand Prix next week, it looks as if the opposition is getting a bit close and you're having to come up with some tricks to beat them now.
MS: It's not a surprise to us that the opposition is getting closer and there are circuits where we were expecting certain teams to be strong. I think Silverstone is going to be another tough one for us from what we have seen in testing but that's why we do racing, to try to be better.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q. Michael that was an extraordinary race and a tremendous pace as well. But when did you know that you probably had it won?
MS: Basically only sort of coming to last pit-stop, five laps before because I wasn't informed all of the time about the gaps, but I was at stages informed, and I think five laps before the pit-stop Ross came on the radio…we have the gap we need to have but we have to consolidate obviously. From that moment on as I knew I was going faster, had less fuel, good tyres compared to Fernando.