Today's guest questioner was Dan Knudsen of National Speedsport News
Q: I will ask you about the track in a second, but first, let's talk about Shanghai and China. Tell us about when you arrived, what have you seen, what have done, what do you think of the city, the country and the people?
Fernando Alonso: Obviously, for me it is the first time in China and I am very impressed with the city. I don't know how many people are in the city but quite a lot compared with the cities in Spain. Everything is so big, especially here in the circuit, the facilities etc etc. I have felt quite impressed from the beginning. I arrived on Tuesday morning and I spent the time in the hotel, in the gymn and I went out shopping on Tuesday afternoon and I enjoyed my time until today, today even more when I'm in the car
Q: Michael, what do you think of the city and the country?
Michael Schumacher: I can't say much about the city, honestly, because I only know the hotels from the functions that I've been at away from the circuit. That's all I have seen. The circuit is obviously quite impressive, the way it is done, it has been done very interestingly, pretty unique, I would say. It's quite a challenge for us because there are a lot of blind corners and it is very tricky. So I think most of us, at least from my point of view I'm quite happy to be here and to enjoy and experience this adventure.
Q: And Ralf?
Ralf Schumacher: Certainly, since I am used to holidaying over the last three months, the first day I organised a city guide and made the tour through the city which was quite interesting. I had some lessons in making tea and saw the Bund area and saw some very interesting stuff. It is a very nice city, actually. There's a lot of building going on. It is surprisingly clean for a huge city like that in various areas. Good food, nice people, the traffic is a mess, it is a bit dangerous to cross the street but apart from that it has been brilliant.
Q: Fernando, what about the circuit itself?
FA: I think, as Michael said, it is quite unique with very different corners to what we are used to. Turn One and Turn 15 are very long corners. It has been done in a different way to make a few more opportunities to overtake with a very long straight. I think for the mechanics, the engineers, they work in a nice area in the paddock. I think for the journalists as well you have good facilities so I think it's been done with good ideas.
Q: And Ralf, your comments on the track?
RS: I heard there were a few complaints about Tilke (the architect) building similar tracks and I must say it is a totally different thing here. It's enjoyable, very enjoyable so I think they did a great job again, it is very technically demanding place for a driver, it's very safe, very good facilities, so it's really great to be here, yeah.
Q: Ralf, for the first time since you were a boy, you have had a long break from racing. You had time to think, about everything, about your life, racing, driving. Did this break change you as a person and as a driver? And maybe now you have a different perspective on life and on racing.
RS: First of all, after being back in the car after three months I realised how much I missed it and how enjoyable it really is to be allowed to be a driver of a Formula One car. It is really nice to be back working with the people although it's only for three more races. It was my wish to be back and doing something. I have never really for one second thought about not racing again. That was never my problem, for two reasons. First of all, I love what I do and secondly, I can't remember a thing about Indianapolis. So for me that race stopped before the start, it never started really for me. So even if I see pictures it's basically as you would look at them, I just see them as a spectator so that's never been a problem for me.
Q: Michael, the same thing in 1999, maybe not thinking about retiring but just thinking about everything when you're away from the cockpit for so long.
MS: I don't think you think so much about everything. You just think when you are going to be ready to drive next, that's what you have mainly in focus, because when you have had an accident you have to be a certain time in hospital, you see your muscles going away so you get concerned, you think about your training and it's all about focusing to get ready for the next time you're ready to race. And that doesn't leave you a lot of time or maybe you don't want to think about other things because that's what is the priority to think about.
Q: Ralf, you watched the races from a different perspective, on the TV instead of from the car. What are Grand Prix races like on TV?
RS: It is actually very interesting to watch a Grand Prix, to have the time to really just look at it: what kind of strategy people have and obviously getting the information from the track, what's happening to the car and to the team. Certainly, it's not so easy. For the first three or four weeks really, I didn't mind so much because I could barely move but then after that it got back to the state where you think you could drive even if you're not allowed to, it starts to be a bit annoying and boring to watch races because you think that you could try and get back in the car and help the situation a bit. I must say Antonio and Marc, both of them, did a very good job anyway.
