Drivers: Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari), Mic🔜hael Schumacher (Ferrari), Takuma Sato (BAR)

TV unilaterals:

Q:
How do yo🌸u feel about your first pole of the season, here ♊at Indianapolis?

Rubens Barrichello:
It feels nice to be here, I think it's a woꦐnderful time. There are loads of Bꦆrazilians out there and I had quite a positive run, just going out, it was nice. I could almost hear them shouting.

Q:
You were very very quick this morning and quick ജyesterday of course; how's the weekend progressed for you and how do you feel about the race?

RB:
I think the car has been good all the time. We made some progress since yesterday, but I think Michael has made progress even so, so we were very close together this morning. Just before pre-qualifying, we made a small change to the car and it became a bit better. In qualifying, I think it was difficult for everyone because the wind was picking up and it was quite difficult driving on the qua🎀lifying lap. I didn't have much of a reference (point) because as you go out last you're just trying to do your best, but it was just an easy lap🐈, trying not to make a mistake, on the limit and finally my first pole of the season.

Q:
Michael, you spoke yesterday of having a reasonably difficult✅ day and, of✅ course, you were not out when the track was quickest in qualifying. You must be very pleased to be P2.

Michael Schumacher:
In a way, yes, I'🎶m pleased we're both on the front row. Naturally I would have preferred the othe𒀰r position but Rubens did a better job so that's where we are.

Q:
What were your thoughts as y𓃲ou were waiting for Rubens to go out? Did you think he had a realistic chancﷺe of beating you?

MS:
I think he had, yeah, because I struggled in the mid sector. I had to fight far too much oversteer in there and I lost reasonable time and there was obviously the doubt that I would keep that poﷺsition. Actually I was expecti🤪ng to drop further back.

Q:
Takuma, that's your third top three qualifying position of the year and here you are, right next to the two Ferrari drive🐠rs at Indianapolis. Surely it does♛n't get any better than that.

Takuma Sato:
I think it's a great result today, for the team as well. I lost yesterday's practice session so I'm really pleased, myself, to g🃏et back on the pace and also the team has done a fantastic job so far and it's resulted in the second row and that's a really good result.

Q:
Do you t🐻hink you can take the race tomorrow to the Fer൩rari drivers?

TS:
They are always very strong in the race, race pace, but I think we've improved our consistency in long runs so we are pretty much hoping we can get closer. T꧙hat's what we'll have to do tomorrow aftern💃oon.

Q:
Rubens, you pushed Michael very hard in the Canadian Grand Prix, we saw you racing closer there. Ferrari are on record as saying they are 💦looking f😼orward to seeing you racing, what are your thoughts tomorrow about the fight with Michael?

RB:
You know, being in front, I hope that he doesn't get as cl🎉ose as I got to him in Canada, but it's always a nice fight. As I said, I have no problems with Michael, I'm always proud to be racing against him. If I've won the pole today, I've won it against the best so I think it's just a positive side. I'm starting in a good place tomorrow, there's going to be a lot of people cheering us on tomorrow, especially the Brazilians, so just a good night's sleep and off I go, trying to win tomorrow.

Press conference:

Q:
Rubens, the tenth pole position of your career, and the first this year. You've had quicker weekends here. What is it about yo♉u and Indianapolis then?

Rubens Barrichello:
I don't think it's anything specific about Indianapolis. I've always liked it. I have always come here with pleasure. But it's just a fact that I think it's on a high. I mean, I think I finished quite well, Canada, ev♍en though the results didn't go, I was expecting a little bit better, but it's definitely on a high.

Q:
Now, you mentioned how the wind changes, how the wind affects.𓄧 How does the wind a൩ffect the car? Where, in particular?

RB:
Well, I felt it when I started my lap, I went to the bank, a🍌nd it was very gusty, and the car was moving around a little bit more. And so, you know, in a way, you just want to be precise more than actually be out in front because you quite easily can make a mistake in those circumstances, even though the car was behaving quite well. And so it was nice to get it done.

Q:
In a way, y𒉰our first sector was slightly slower, but you picked up as you went through the sectors.

RB:
Yeah, I've always thought if I was preparing the tyres or anything like this, but my car didn't feel as good as it should on the first sector, but it did feel quite good from ಌthere onwards. So, because the mid-series is probably the longest one. It was good to set a good time there.

Q:
Well done. Thank you very much. Mich▨ael, in fact, you were very quick on the first sector, and if anything, it sort of just eased away from you later on.

Michael Schumacher:
No, not really. I mean, it went away in the second sector, though the last sector I was even qui🍨cker. I just slid around too much. I just couldn't keep it on track properly on line, and there was a couple of corners against, and Rubens found a better way to deal with it.

Q:
Have you been happy with today.

MS:
We are in the front row. I'm fighting against Rubens, who has done a fantastic weekend. He's been very strong all weekend long, and that's the ✱way it is. That's the way we push each other.

Q:
But you have had bigger margins in other circu൲its over the rest of the op♒position.

MS:
Yeah, I ꧃did, but maybe Rubens didn't get it together as good as I did at that stage, and now 🔯he got it together just perfectly.

Q:
You've had phenomenal record in the past races and neve🧔r finish🏅ed lower than second.

MS:
O🐻bviously, I still aim for one up and then my lowest one, but that's going to be the interesting one between us tomorrow and as well, Takuma and Jenson and whoever is in the position of doing so.

Q:
Takuma-san, in fact, you were fastest to the second sector overall, and i🐎f anything you lost a little bit in the final sector. Can you say where that would have gon🌼e?

Takuma Sato:
I don't know, it was a little bit gusty♏, and I wonder if the wind was a factor a little bit. But nevertheless I'm very happy with the result today. I'm particularly -- two cars in the second, last time, as I said. And I thꦡink it was a great result for the team, and I'm really pleased about it.

Q:
It's a long straight here. In fact, probably the lo🍌ngest at full🐓 throttle anywhere in the championship. What are your feelings about that, particularly has the team made any changes for you, given the reliability of the past few races?

TS:
Well, that's a bit of a grey area. We really don't know about what is going on with the reliability issues. Just I was a bit under, and also Jenson's engine was quite on edges, and anything can happen at any time. I always had a problem this season so far, but obviously the Honda, everybody is working really hard to solve the problem, and obviously even the short times from Canada to here, we did a little, not treatment, but a little step for the engine for the reliability issue. We hope, we hope this one is ♑OK for this Grand Prix.

Questions from the floor:

Q: (Massimo Lopez Pegna - La Gazetta dello Sport)
Takuma, what kind of a chance do you reallꦚy have tomorrow to beat these guys? Is it going to be a question of luck or something more?

TS:
To wi🌠n a grand prix, I think you need everything but to be honest, trying to beat Ferrari is obviously very, very difficult as everybody has seen this year so far. But that is our aim and objective so we are trying and obviously having had these free practice sessions yesterday and today we seem to be a little bit consistent through the longer runs, whic✃h they are always strong. So we are hoping we can catch them up. We are getting better and better all the time so that is what we are going to hope tomorrow afternoon.

Q: (Bruce Martin - Sports Ticker)
Michael, is there a part of t🅰he track which is crucial in the race?

MS:
Not on course, just next to me [laughter]

Q:
How far does that ♋extend, all the way down, the first corner🌱 presumably as well?

MS:
We all want to aim for the win and to ꦗdo this you have to finish. Most of us know that, all of us I g⭕uess.

Q: (Michael Vega - Boston Globe)
Rubens, you seem to be pretty quick o💟n this course since🐠 you got here. What is it about the circuit that suits your driving style and where do you think you were particularly fastest on your qualifying lap?

RB:
To be honest, as we were talking back there on Thursday, I have been saying I have been through so many changes in terms of driving. I started the season driving one way and I was finding it quite good in race pace and everything but in qualifying I couldn't get it going. Obviously I did a little bit of adapting and right now I feel that I am driving the best (I have) so far this season. I don't think it is specifically this track. Obviously I like it, I think Indy is, you could call it a part of Mickey Mouse and 🦹so on but it is quite a difficult part of Mickey Mouse. I mean, for you to go fast there it is quite difficult so it makes a challenge which for me is someth🌌ing quite nice. So, obviously, I think I got it right in terms of set-up. I am quite happy with the car and the engine and the tyres but there is no specific reason why that is.

Q:
Rubens, is there one sector or anot🌞h𒁃er which has been important for you?

RB:
I think Michael has been goin🌳g quite well in sector one and probably sector two is the one, not just in qualifying, but sector two I have always been quite happy wi🌱th the car and making up some good times. Sector three we are pretty much even, so probably in sector two.

Q: (Thierry Tassin - RTBF)
Rubens, you just said driving in a different way. Can you ﷺbe a little bit more specific in how you drive 🍸differently?

RB:
It is just a fact that it is just because everyone is asking that. I have been driving a little bit on my left foot more since the beginning of the season but I am naturally a right footer, so obviously I am kicking with both feet now and a footballer who kicks with bo🎶th feet can be better. So I am a little bit of both but I have just got better as the season progressed on everything. I think I am driving a little bit back to last season right now.

Q: (Massimo Lopez Pegna)
Sato, what kind of following do you have in Japan? How famous are you over there🦩?

TS:
I think, in Japan, they are all very excited about this season. Obviously, like, 15 years ago w✅e had a massive following for Formula One and then we kind of lost it a bit in the late 1990s but we have come back quite significantly this year and I have got lots of cheering from Japan and I am really feeling positive information from all the guys. So, we are very happy about the progress we have made.

Q: (Jonathan Ingram - Palm Beach Post)
Tomorrow's race will probably be the hottest race of the season and there has been a lot of talk about consistency. Do you t💛hink the Bridgestone tyres wiꦅll hold their own over the long runs versus the Michelins in the hot weather?

RB:
Well, I think the answer is yes. We have a good Bridgestone tyre, we have done some analysis and everything and since we have been testing since December and the tyre likes the heat as well. We proved that in Malaysia, so we are quite optimistic. Of course, we know💫 the competitors are quite eager to beat us, to win the race, but I think we can be quite optimistic.