Tuesday September 7th, 1999

Q: After some disappointing results recently, we saw in Belgium that your performance has improved dramatically. What are the main reasons behind this?

I think that this season started with a car that was quite difficult to drive. I had several mechanical problems that slowed down my apprenticeship in the modern Formula One that has changed so much since I was last here. During the season I became more confident with the car I was driving and I adjusted my driving style to what is needed now. Furthermore, we sensibly improved the car. I probably benefited from this development more than my team-mate Ralf who is not averse to driving 'sideways'. For sure, I had more benefit from a more sincere-to-drive car. All these factors gathered in Spa and led me to perform fairly well. Anyway, sometime, when you push forward certain limits you don't even realise that you have and today, with the usual effort, I can be faster than before.

Q: If you could rewrite the championship so far, what would you change, from your own point-of-view?

We live every second of our life just once. Many times we must recall what happened and everything seems to be easy, with hindsight. But if I could go back in time, without hindsight, I would make the same mistakes and do the same good things, because... I must have done something right if I am now more competitive than before! But if I could really go back and change something, I would push the team to adopt some solutions earlier. In fact there are some parts of the car, mostly electronic, that stopped me several times and made me struggle.

Q: You are returning to race in Italy after four months away. What do you want to say to the Italian fans who will show up in Monza to support you?

The most beautiful message would be to give them a good performance on the track and therefore answer their questions. I don't like to find excuses for any dull performance but this is what I have been forced to do so far. I wish that from now on I am able to talk to my fans after the race about a good result because ...well, it's about time!

Q: The Monza circuit is one of the most popular and prestigious. Have you got any special memories of this track?

I love the Monza track. I know it pretty well as I raced here several years ago. I have many memories of this circuit, even if I must say that I never managed to win a race, here. I used to be a good runner up in Formula 3. It's an exceptionally harsh and severe track to those who haven't got enough horsepower. Nevertheless, the track has some curves that still allow a skilled driver to stand out.

Q: During the test here last week, the Williams cars have proved to be competitive again. What are the pros and cons of this track for the FW21s?

I wish I could perform well in Monza because our car cut a fine figure in the test. We located the (few) problems we had and I think we managed to solve them or, at least, to improve the situation. This is a circuit - just like Spa - that seems to take out of our car its positive features rather than emphasising its negative aspects. With regards to the "cons" of this track for the FW21, it must be underlined that today the cars' aerodynamic penetration has reached an unbelievable level and staying in someone else's trail is no longer advantageous. Overtaking is still difficult, if you haven't got enough horsepower, therefore I hope I will start from near the front. As far as the "pros" are concerned, the lap-times speak clearly. If we should refer to the times we achieved here in the last test we could look optimistically at Sunday's race. I think that the positive aspects mostly concern the car's capability of approaching the kerbs in the right way. It must be properly balanced in the medium-speed corners and mostly it must keep up well enough with the race rhythm.

Q: After the Italian Grand Prix there will three races left on the 1999 calendar. Can you make a short comment about the next circuits (Nurburgring, Kuala Lumpur and Suzuka) both from your point of view as a driver and from the FW21's competitiveness'.

I can only comment about two of the circuits from what I have seen on TV and both times it was raining hard! At the Nurburgring this seems to be fairly usual, but it isn't in Malaysia! Maybe I was unlucky to turn on the TV in the only rainy moment! Anyway, Sepang should be a beautiful place. Every driver will have to discover the track and this represents some kind of advantage for me, in a certain sense, as the handicap I usually have is slightly smaller than my adversaries'. Suzuka is a track I like a lot, even if it's so far away and forces us to make a long journey. I am going there with great pleasure and I want to assume that our car will perform well there because, from a certain point of view, the track is similar to Spa, where we had a good result.

Q: Ralf Schumacher has proved to be a fast and mature driver. How has your relationship improved, throughout the season?

I deeply respect Ralf as a driver. He is very fast and committed, probably among the best in F1 today. It's fairly difficult to be his friend as he is a very competitive person who is unlikely to open himself up to someone like me who, being his team-mate, is at the same time his No.1 adversary. Furthermore he is much younger than me, therefore he has a very personal idea about how to live our relationship. It's quite difficult for me to say "I am a friend of Ralf". We have a fair relationship and we are both working hard to reach the best possible, mostly for ourselves and for the team. I must say that he succeeded pretty well in this, so far, as he achieved first-rate results and I believe he did the maximum, if we consider the tools he had.

Q: It's very demanding to be a Formula One driver. Races, tests, promotional events keep you away from home for long periods. How do you spend the little free time you have?

It's true, I have very little free time. If I could have some more I would want to be a driver as long as my reflexes would allow me. In the reality, this has become more and more a job and has taken away the passion therefore it's an activity that you can't carry out forever. Every commitment that is a part now of a driver's life is very important because - I never forget - without the sponsors we couldn't bear the high cost that F1 requires today. In my little free time I try to relax and to recover. Some days I even do mental training, trying not to think about race cars, in order to clean up my head and to go back with much more enthusiasm when I plunge again into it. And then ...a wife and a baby - but mostly the baby! - really fill up your days. What I most love is to stay with my family. Then I like to do everything that the guys of my age like to do, if they can. Unfortunately, I can't say "today I go biking and tomorrow I'll go out on my boat" because I seldom have two consecutive days off. Nevertheless I have a boat, a bicycle, a pair of skis, a bike and a tennis racket which I dust off, from time to time!

Q: And finally, what is your forecast for the 1999 Drivers' and Constructors' World Championships?

With regards to the Drivers', I wish that Irvine could win, as he is the nicest among those who are running for the Championship. Probably he is also the one I mostly identify myself with, as a person. Mika Hakkinen shields himself behind some kind of professionalism that doesn't suit him, as I think that "of his own" he would be a playful good guy. Coulthard is a professional... but something less when he's driving! Anyway, I like Irvine even if I think that he will unlikely be World Champion because McLaren, now, has a stronger and faster car than Ferrari.