15.01.2004 MICHAEL SCHUMACHER 'I HAVE TO SEE A STEERING WHEEL TO BE HAPPY'

After Barrichello and Badoer, it was Michael Schumacher’s turn to field the questions. At a press conference held as part of the International Press Ski Meeting at Madonna di Campiglio, journalists gathered to grill the world champion.

The German told the assembled pack that he had spent a quiet holiday period taking part in the odd event and relaxing with his family in Norway. The opening salvo was aimed at uncovering his thoughts about the extension of Barrichello’s contract until 2006. ‘I am very happy for Rubens’, commented Michael.

‘The extension of his contract is a natural and logical decision. Ferrari has made the right choice not only because Rubens is a good, fast driver but because this means that we can go on working in the same great atmosphere of recent years. It doesn’t worry me that Rubens has declared that he wants to be world champion…every driver wants to win; it’s our job. And, we should remember that being competitive and winning are often not the same thing.’

According to the Ferrari driver, 2004 promises to be an interesting and difficult season, as was 2003. ‘We will try to do our best but it is still too early to express an opinion.’ Retirement plans? ‘I have to see a steering wheel to be happy’, revealed Michael. ‘I hope to continue racing until I am no longer competitive. I measure myself against my team-mate; when I see that I can no longer compete with him, then some motivational problems could arise. ‘But’, he concluded with a smile, ‘I did some kart racing during the break and it seems I am still quite good!’

Michael was asked how he felt racing at Imola and Budapest, which, for personal and sporting reasons, were the two most trying moments of the seasons. ‘In a team we all work as one’, remembered Michael, ‘so everybody pulls together in difficult moments; I was not alone. It is precisely at these times that the team plays a fundamental role and aims to maximise the performance. When I am in my cockpit I am alone, but I continue to think about the strategy and about what we have decided together before the race; this is the only way to win.’

Between the end of the 2003 and the beginning of the 2004 season many famous names crop up: that of Villeneuve, who bid farewell to the racing world and also that of Senna, who passed away ten years ago this year. What effect do these names have on the German champ? ‘I didn’t really feel particularly involved in the retirement of Villeneuve as I have never had anything other than a working relationship with him. I think the sport has lost a great figure though,’ explained Michael. ‘The esteem I feel for Senna, though, is both personal and private and I don’t think I will ever express my feelings in any public setting.’

Obviously it was impossible not to wrap up without some comments on the coming season: ‘We would like to begin the championship with the new car so that we can identify immediately the areas in which we need to work and what needs to be improved. As regards the new circuits, from a driver’s point of view they don’t constitute a problem. On the Thursday I will get on my bike and ride around the circuit so that I can memorise the track. Maybe from the team point of view it is more difficult because you are working in unknown conditions, but even so, it all remains to be seen!’