Q: Juan Pablo, obviously you were the winner here last year. Have things been getting better the last couple of races?
Juan Pablo Montoya: Yeah, I think the last couple of races things have turned a little bit our way. There are a couple of things coming on the car and it is nice to see that but I think that there is still a long way to go to really be fully competitive.

Q: You had the new aerodynamic package at Magny-Cours for the first time. Has the subsequent development and testing really sorted that out?
JPM: I think a lot of aerodynamic things are fixed. It doesn’t really change the way you have got to run the car. It was more I think at Silverstone we had a couple of new things on it and improved. It has been pretty good. We have new things here again and I think we have started to get a normal rate of development race by race and it is good to see that. I think the first six months we just fell back so much that it really cost us.

Q: What about also the incidents in Canada and America as well - how much does that affect your motivation?
JPM: None really! I don’t think it should. It is not about motivation. I think if things like that happen with mistakes I think it is good because it alarms a lot of people and a lot of people, maybe, who are making little mistakes put extra attention to the way they do things. And in a way it was bad for the team to lose the points but apart of that I think it was good.

Q: So it had a positive side?
JPM: I think it had a positive side in the end. I think when things like that happen you have to look at the positive side and try to learn from the mistakes. And I think if the team learned from its mistakes then it is good.

Q: What about the fact you have a new team-mate here again - how does that affect you?
JPM: Well, it is strange to work with somebody else every race, but it is the way it is. It is harder for the rest of the team than myself. It is harder for the race engineer than myself. I am doing the best I can every race with my people working around my car and that’s it.

Q: Will you still expect help from him, will you still get help from him, and how much can you help him?
JPM: If he asks, I will help. With Marc (Gene) I tended to help him quite a bit because he asked. If Antonio asks I will help him.

QL: And will you expect help from him as well?
JPM: Yeah, if I have a problem and he seems to be going the better direction than me then for sure.

Q: Now, what about Michelin’s contribution here? Have their tyres improved, do you feel?
JPM: Testing the last time went quite well so I think these conditions, weather wise, you know, are probably not as extreme as Jerez but I think it should be very good.

Q: And does that mean the Michelins generally speaking are going to be good?
JPM: Yeah, last year was a very good race here for the tyres and, you know, we were miles quicker than everybody else. And there is quite a bit of hope still in the car that we could do well here.

Q: So, having said earlier you have still a long way to go, do you think the tyres could compensate for that?
JPM: Yeah, I think between all the Michelin teams that are top runners – like McLaren, Williams, Renault and BAR - I think we are just very close. One race suits one more than the other and that just makes it really hard. One race you can be P2 and the next race you can be P8! It’s tough.

Q: What about your own ambitions for the rest of the season?
JPM: You know, just push as hard as I can, try to get as many points as possible. It would be nice to get a couple of podiums and if we can get a win it would be great.

Q: Because qualifying has been good this year.
JPM: Yeah, last year qualifying was one of my weak points and this year it has improved a lot. There are still bits that you can improve but the last few races, the way it has been, it is quite important to finish in a good place to score good points. You cannot be so greedy as at the beginning of the year. You have got to make sure you are up there all the time.

Q: And when you look at the way it has gone in the last few races, can you see anyone closing in on Ferrari?
JPM: Yeah, I think everyone has closed the gap a little bit but….

Q: Do you still feel it is quite big?
JPM: Yeah, it is. I think it depends on the races you are at. Some races it is going to be huge, some races it is going to be closer. This, I think, might be one of the closer ones.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR