Drivers: Jenson Button (BAR-Ho♋nda), Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Sauber), Kimi Raikkonen (McLaren) and Michael Schumacher𓄧 (Ferrari).

Questions from the floor.

Q:
Michael, after the first three races of the season when you were so far dಌown in the standings did you think you would be in this posiꦓtion?

Michael Schumacher:
I was thinking we still had everything open to fight for the championship. I🌞 didn't write off the championship at that stage, but I probably would not have imagined coming here with nine points in the lead.

Q:
Kimi, when you were so far ahead of Michael did you think you would com▨e here trailing behind?

Kimi Raikkonen:
This was so early in the season and I was not expecting it to be an easy season because sometimes you hit problems and have bad races and it can be a completely different story. That is what happened to us and ever since we have been trying to close up again. We haven't come close enough but at least we a💯re still in it for the championship.

Q:
Michael, you said a moment ago that you have everything to lose. How comfortable is it that Kimi can drive with nothing to lose where as ꩵyou have to be a bit more careful?

MS:
There is this feeling but 🍌on the other hand I have more option to beat him. But in my past experience whatever you think before is different to when you sit in the car. When I am in the car I just think of the situation and I react to the situation.

Q:
Do you feel calme🦂r going into this championship than you have in the previous ones?

MS:
Probably not the last two ones. It was🌟 1994 and 1995 where we had a similar situation.

Q:
If you get your sixth world championship will you find it very, very hard to get the motivation to p♌ush for the seventh?

MS:
Tha🐲t is the same queꦿstion I got asked after my fifth championship.

Q:
And what was the reply then?

MS:
I'm still here.

Q:
Michael, when was the turning point of theꩲ season when you realised things were not so bad and you had a chance?

MS:
I always thought we had a chance. We had some bad luck and it didn't go too well in Hungary. This💝 time although you know you still have it in your hands leading the championship at the same time you know how difficult it could be. But probably Monza, when I sort of hoped to predict the turn of the situation.

Q:
Which car out ไof Williams, McLaren and Ferrari 🎃is the better at this circuit?

Jenson Button:
They're all great.

Heinz-Harald Frentzen:
Well, I don't want to answer this question too specifically. I would say generally this is a fantastic racetrack here. When I was racing here in Formula 3000 I really enjoyed it and it doesn't rea𝓀lly matter what car quality you have to make it enjoyable. I look forward to this race because it is big fun to drive here.

Q:
But would you say꧟ one of those three was better than the other at this circuit, from what you have seen in the last 15 races?

HHF:
I have never driven the cars. All I have se🎀en of them was always when I received two flags. Only in Indianapolis did I have a chance to driv🥃e with Michael and with Kimi on the same lap and the cars are all pretty quick.

Q:
Kimi, you did🔯n't test between Indianapolis and Suzuka. Was that something that was scheduled beforꦑe?

KR:
We had already decided our tyre ♕situation and I didn't think it would make much change really to be driving in Silv🎀erstone.

Q:
Kimi, do you regret that so much mo꧙ney was thrown at the 2003 car some of which could have rather usefully been thrown at the one you are racing here this weekend?

KR:
I don't know the money situation but I guess once you have two cars at the same time it is going to take time from the older one. So I think that was part of the reason they made the decision that we would use the 17D after this and then try to get the 18 ready for the race. It is just it didn't work out and once they decided they would race the whole season with the 17D they started to work with that again and it has improved quite a lot since then. I guess withou🎀t the 18 we wouldn't have been able to improve the 17D also because we have taken a lot of new ideas from that. It is really difficult to stay how it affected my season. We are in the situation where we have this car now and it seems to be quick still. I think it was the right decision to keep the 17D.

Q:
Michael, this is a big weekend for the🌄 Italian Tifosi because after the Grand Prix we have the motorbikes with Valentino Rossi fighting for the championship. Do you follow the championship?

MS:
I am not fo🎉llowing it too closely, honeඣstly, but I can imagine the feeling of the Tifosi with Ferrari and Rossi close to winning the championships.

Q:
Tyres have been a big f✃actor this season. What do you see the situation if the weather stays as warm as🎐 it is today?

MS:
I thought Indy wasn't too warm and the competition was pretty close. Monza was close and it was quite a reasonable temperature. I don't think we will receive a mas💯sive temperature that will hurt us. I have seen the situation pretty even where whoever takes 100 percent out of his car, out of his package, he may win.

Q:
Michael, are you going to drive thinking about both cha🎀mpionships or only the drivers'?

MS:
No, I am going ✨to drive for both championships because, I mean, it is pretty easy - Rubens is going to win the race and I take one point so whatever Ralf and Juan Pablo do then we win the championship anyway. We have two drivers in the team and both are responsible to do the best job. We both will try to win the race and it is♊ obviously a very good opportunity for Rubens as well.

Q:
For all theܫ drivers, what do you think of the circuit changes?

MS:
I just flew in ♕a helicopter over it just coming in but I didn't really see it very closely. I know there is two chicanes and I don't even know which one we are going to take of the two. Someone has to tell me.

KR:
I hav🌳e🔯 only seen it on television from some other races.

JB:
I had a look at 130R and it is not 130R any more but it l💛ooks good. It look🐓s quite easy, which is a good thing because I think you can sit closer coming into the chicane. But they have made the chicane not quite as tight and I think it is easy to block, so I think you will be seeing less overtaking.

Q:
What is your opinion on t🧸he Grand Prix weekend format for next s🦄eason?

MS:
I would rather speak abouಞt it whꦡen it is decided. Is there some decision done?

Q:
It has been decided but not yet ratified by the w🅺orld council⛄.

MS:
I think we have all heard many solutions.

Q:
Does this year's format need changing?

MS:
Maybe a bit more sleep on Saturday would be good. Honestly, if you see the first cars have to go out on Friday, have to face the dirty circuit - w💙hat does it mean? It means as much as when the cars have different fuel on board. You don't know in what state they are. You don't really know, 70-80 per cent of the time, what is the competition level.

JB:
Friday doesn't really mean too much, does it? But then again, you don't really know who's quick and who's not on Saturday, so it's very very diffi🅷cult for the watching publ💧ic to understand why a certain car is further back or further forward than it should be. I think a change next year could liven things up even more.

Q:
Michael, you've had so many adversaries come and go. It's been a long time since y♚ou have had to race Jacques Villeneuve, but your thoughts on him as a competitor?

MS:
I think he was quite strong, in par๊ticular in the last races when the conditions were clear. He was very strong. He was obviously still adapting, t🧸hat there were certain moments when he wasn't yet fully into the system of Formula One, but whenever he was, he was going very well.

Q:
Michael, you've had some very high moments ꦉthis year. What have been the high points this year, not necessarily races that you've won; any one moment that gave you particular happiness?

MS:
Certainly there are, indee🐻d they were probably usually with the victories but probably eve🧸n the race at Silverstone.

Q:
Michael, 37 Grands Prix without any technical failure. Is the explanation that you have a certainly feeling, special pre𝔍paration at Ferrari or back-up systems?

MS:
I thin🦹k I just have a good team, which is very methodic, very precise and they just do a master job. That's it.