Q: Rubens, a great result. Leading by 6.9s at the end of the first lap and then in the pits on lap five.
Rubens Barrichello: It was a difficult decision at the start because when we went to the grid it was fairly wet. The sun was out and basically it was going to dry, but it was very difficult to know when. I thought that on the wets I could open a gap in the first five laps that I would be able to really be happy after the pit stops and stop one but it was difficult to know when and on the radio it was a bit of a mess to know whether to come in or not. ‘Alonso’s doing well, no, stay out.’ So I think it was a lap too much, too long, to be honest, but everything worked out very well. There was a point in the middle of the race where I thought everything was lost because Michael overtook me, Pizzonia overtook me and I actually took a gamble yesterday to go a little bit towards wet settings. The thing was drying out so quickly and I had a lot of understeer but obviously as the fuel ran down my car became faster and faster and I was able to push and I was delighted.

Q: You were phenomenally quick in that build-up to what was effectively your third pit stop.
RB: I tell you, I didn’t see anything; I just kept pushing and pushing. I felt like yesterday’s qualifying lap was tremendous. I was telling myself you deserve this, just push the throttle down, and just go as fast as you can. So when I came out of the pits I had no-one in front and no-one behind that I could see. So then I asked ‘which position am I in, which position am I in?’ And they said ‘P1’ and then I said something in Portuguese which I can’t say here now but it was just a phenomenal feeling and that’s why I am so relieved and so delighted as well.

Q: But then you did have Michael in your mirrors right at the end of the race.
RB: Yeah. Well at that stage the team told both us, I think, to conserve the engines just a little bit because we had to push very hard in the middle of the race so at that stage I felt quite comfortable to be honest.

Q: Michael, P15, I think you were on the first lap – it was an interesting first lap for you.
Michael Schumacher: Was it even P15? I thought it was completely last because after the spin I had to let everybody through in order get going because they were coming and I really had to wait to avoid an accident. But it was an interesting race, yes. Interesting battles I had today, it was really worth it and coming in second during the race I wouldn’t have thought that because it was difficult to judge who was going to do what and I wouldn’t have expected that it would be possible to be overtaking the front runners because I thought the pace would have been closer. But our car ran fantastically well, despite the first couple of laps when it was damp, and that obviously gave us the possibilities.

Q: On that first lap what actually happened? Why did you have those two moments at the first and second chicanes?
MS: At the first chicane I just couldn’t stop the car in time. It looks like we struggled a little bit more than the other tyre companies, so I had to run straight. I then slowed down to let Juan get through. Juan played a little bit smart and slowed down himself to make it look like I was gaining an advantage. Anyway, I kept on going, and then coming into the second chicane it was just slippery again. I was sliding, got a nice four wheel slide. Jenson was on the outside, he couldn’t avoid that one and I just touched slightly with my front wheel, I don’t know, on his side pod, which spun me around. It was just one of those things, they do happen. In the conditions it was very difficult. I thought it was the right decision to go with slicks. I know it was going to be tricky. In the end, you see that both cars came in within one second, so both decisions seemed to be right in a way.

Q: And Jenson, a great drive for you, particularly in those early slippery stages.
Jenson Button: Yeah, it was a very interesting race. I didn’t think the Ferraris were going to be so strong towards the end of the race but the pace of these two guys was just untouchable. But all in all it’s a fantastic race for us as a team. We have taken second place in the championship now in the Constructors, two points in front of Renault, I think. So it’s fantastic. I have to dedicate this podium to them and also my granddad, who is watching from his hospital bed at the moment.

Q: On that last set of tyres, was the car any different to how it had been in the earlier stage of the race?
JB: Obviously the first set of tyres we were in damp conditions and it’s very difficult to feel how the second set of tyres are going to be when the circuit’s completely dry. The balance wasn’t too bad. The car seems to run much better on low fuel towards the end of the stints, that’s when the car gets stronger and that’s when I was able to pull out a gap on Alonso and Montoya. So I knew that was to come, so I was pretty positive that we were pretty strong for a podium position at least. I actually thought we had the chance of a win there but, as I said, I didn’t know these two guys would be so strong.

Q: Rubens, no doubt an emotional day, not only for you personally but for the team as a whole - the hat-trick here at Monza and your eighth one-two as a team this season. A few final words from you please?
RB: Well, I can honestly say from the bottom of my heart that this is the best season ever. It was lacking one win at least for me and the amount of points, the amount of victories that Michael had, the way we won the Constructors, the team is very well and so this is for them as well, the way they behave, even though we win races. In half an hour we are going to be in a meeting thinking about the next race already so I think that shows how they are strong and how we are behaving with their cars. So it’s great thanks to all the team and to all the tifosi because it was a very good weekend. I just love every moment. Even though we had a time in the middle of the race that we thought it was gone, everything came back and so that’s why we have to believe in life that whenever it’s your day, it has to be your day.