Questions from the floor
Q: (Ian Stafford –
The Mail on Sunday)
Heikki, you’ve played down the fact that you’ve had the crash, you’re here, you’re second, your best ever starting position, but can you just talk a little bit more about how delighted you must be not just to be second but on the back of what happened in Spain, and maybe how you felt really, for the first lap or two yesterday, and how relieved and how pleased – what a story it is really that you bounced back from that to be where you are now.
Heikki Kovalainen:
Well, of course, I am very pleased to be here and the fact that I didn’t get any physical injuries in the accident really shows what the
FIA has done in the past, how they have improved the safety and all I have to do is thank those people who have been putting their effort into work on that. Having said that, there is still more to do and I think everybody should look into that more and more. Apart from that, you might try to get a big story out of it but honestly, all I can say is that three days after the accident I felt that my headache went away and by then, I had done all the scans in Spain, all the checks for my neck and head, and everything that was affected by the impact and we knew that I didn’t have any physical injuries. There were no injuries to the head, just a headache which was normal. If someone hits you on the head with a baseball bat I’m sure you would have a headache for three days at least. But after that, the recovery has been very good. I went back to Finland to a special sports institute, I worked with specialists who helped people recover from head injuries and they all did a great job. They knew exactly where we were going and I was increasing my physical training and fitness training all the time. And coming here, I had done the maximum effort training to make sure my body could take the stress and when I did the tests in Finland, I knew that I wouldn’t have any problem passing the medical here and that’s the reason why I turned up here. Then for the first laps yesterday perhaps I was a little bit more nervous than normal but only for the first half of the lap. After that I could feel that I didn’t have any side effects, everything seemed to be functioning like normal. After that it’s just been business as usual. No one in our team has asked ‘how do you feel?’ I told them after the installation lap everything’s fine, let’s get on with it, and since then it’s been normal set-up work and trying to make the most out of the car and get everything up to speed.
Q: (Heikki Kulta –
Turun Sanomat)
Heikki, you Finnish guys are on the dirtier side of the track. Does it make a big difference here?
HK:
Well, it’s difficult to say but traditionally it doesn’t help you, but what can I do? I can’t change the sides anymore, so I just have to try to make the most of it and then anyway we are near the front of the grid, so it’s nothing to worry about, there’s no reason to worry about it too much. But the way you ask the question, I’m sure it doesn’t help.
Q: (Panos Diamantis –
Car and Driver Magazine)
Felipe, if the temperature is the same for the race as it is today, is it OK for you and do you have any concerns for your stint on hard tyres during the race?
Felipe Massa:
Well, for sure, the temperature is pretty low compared to what we’re used to having here in the past but it’s the same for everybody and you just need to make sure you warm up the tyres in the right way before going to the grid and also making the right choice of tyres, in order not to lose any grip but also to try to use the best tyres at the right time. The difference between the hard and the soft here is not so big, so it’s important to chose the right one.
Q: (Fulvio Solms –
Corriere dello Sport)
Question for Felipe: at how many circuits in the championship do you have the same good feelings as you have here?
FM:
I have good feelings in many circuits, for sure. It doesn’t mean that because I won here, that I cannot win at other tracks. For sure, it’s a fantastic circuit and I always feel happy to come here, and it’s my third pole position in a row here with
Ferrari, so for sure that’s a big pleasure, but I think I can be competitive in many tracks.
Q:
(Fulvio Solms – Corriere dello Sport) Could you clarify which circuits where you have the best feelings?
