Kimi, from where you started yesterday in terms of your qualifying, in terms of what happened in Hockenheim, a great result today.
Kimi Raikkonen: Yeah, it was good. We did a little gamble yesterday with the fuel loads because we knew we would be penalised a lot starting first and it paid off. I am pretty happy, we had a very good car, I was stuck behind Michael halfway through the race then I had one lap longer and passed him and then we were away and that was it, but it was a bit disappointing for the team because it would have been one-two but anyway I am very happy.

You say you were stuck behind Michael but it was a very impressive show in the early laps, you and Michael out there racing together, how did the cars compare?
KR: He just always pulled away in the last corner so I couldn’t get close to him on the straight line. At the start of the race I was maybe a similar speed but after the first stops I was a bit quicker so I got closer but I couldn’t get past. I got close but then some traffic came but it wasn’t that bad and luckily we chose different tactics and from that point on there came the difference.

On the second stop you took on much less fuel, was that a decision taken during the race?
KR: No. We stopped the first time then we changed it to what they thought was the best time to stop the second time. They made a great decision on that.

You set fastest lap on lap 40, just before your team-mate Juan Pablo retired with a driveshaft, I believe. At that point you were seven seconds behind him, did you think the win was there for you if he remained in the race?
KR: I don’t know and nobody will ever know. I had a very good car and after we stopped the last time I knew we had plenty of space and I didn’t push, the car could have gone quite a bit quicker still but there was no point risking anything.

Michael, a lot of pressure in those early laps, indeed right at the end from Ralf, talk through those early laps.
Michael Schumacher: Well, actually I was pretty happy with the pace we were able to run, there wasn’t that much between us considering that he stopped earlier so he was lighter at that stage. It seemed pretty similar but with time our tyres sort of went slower. Staying in front after the first pit stop I saw he was coming and he was then quicker but not quick enough to get by us and it was only about who would stop when and we were obviously hoping they would stop in front of us but they managed to stay out one more lap and that moved the race towards them. I think if we would have been able to stay in front after the pit stops, because it is so difficult to pass, we might have had a chance but we will never find out. It was a good race, anyway, for us. From where we came, to finish second, we are pretty happy on that, we had a good weekend and to finish second is a good motivation for everyone in the team. Hard work for all of them in the last few months and a little payback.

In that second stop you took on a lot more fuel thank Kimi, so when Juan Pablo was out of the race and it was you and Kimi fighting for the lead he had an advantage of a lighter car.
MS: After the second stop. Yes, but he was in front and he had enough of a gap and his pace was anyway too fast, there was no chance. There was only one chance, that at the second pit stop I had to come in at the same time or one lap later. That could have given us an opportunity to try and stay ahead but one it was done no matter what we did it wasn’t quick enough.

Then your younger brother made things interesting for you in the last couple of laps of the race.
MS: Yeah, he got closer. Obviously our tyres started to get slower and I watched out for the tyres as soon as I knew I couldn’t do anything against Juan and Kimi, at that stage I just preserved the tyres and drove as quickly as I needed to drive. As I said it is so difficult to overtake and by the end of the race everybody’s tyres are a bit down and it is even more difficult so I just went as quickly as I had to, Ralf was quicker but not quick enough to pass here.

Ralf, congratulations on your first podium for Toyota. A great drive, a three-stop strategy and running strong all afternoon.
Ralf Sschumacher: Yeah, I mean I must say the team did a great job over the weekend. I must admit that I was not 100 percent positive about our strategy we chose, but the chief engineer was right to take it, so thanks to him! It was a great weekend for us, being third and fifth in qualifying, the car went great, the pit stops were perfect, so it was all good.

What were your queries? To do with how you qualify with different fuel loads or how you split the race after you had opted for a three-stop strategy?
RS: Again, it is a difficult task here. For the tyre, we expected such a high temperature and you never know, it was a balance of looking after the tyre but not being first in the pits and still having a reasonable qualifying position. We have had a lot of comments about us being good in qualifying and not able to maintain position in the race but I think we shocked people today that we are able to go as fast as anyone else except maybe McLaren. But they are driving in a different world at the moment anyway.

And how was that Ferrari in the closing laps?
RS: Well, you could see he was doing the pace he needed to and out of the final corner he had a really good exit so there was no chance to really get him on the straight and I was waiting for a mistake, which he didn’t do.