Post Spanish GP Press Conference
29th April, 2001

MS     Michael Schumacher
JPM   Juan Pablo Montoya
JV      Jacques Villenueve

Q: Michael explain how you felt passing Mika on the last lap?

MS: Simply sorry. We both had a good race. Very entertaining, until the last stop when he nipped past me. He did a better last section in his second pit stop, and I was a bit in traffic having some little trouble on top. But anyway he, we, have done a great race, it reminds me of the old days last year and seeing him retiring, just in the last lap five corners or whatever to go to the end, it's shocking. I mean he really has done everything right, and then I'm sorry for him. I went to see him, its not the way you like to win a race, honestly, but then sometimes it happens. I mean it has happened to me and now it has happened to Mika, so that's the way it goes sometimes.

Q: Now you mentioned you had some problems after the second stop, you were losing about three seconds a lap, what were the problems?

MS: I had a huge vibration, most likely in the tyres and I was thinking the tyre was delaminating. I was obviously very careful, especially down the straight I was going very slow, I didn't want to risk anything - maybe a tyre explosion, whatever. We had enough of a gap and we were thinking of coming in for another pit stop for changing tyres, but then it stopped and I thought just for the last couple of laps it is safe to continue, but still it was a worry until the end.

Q: Juan Pablo Montoya, welcome to the press conferences. How did it feel to stand on the podium and see the Colombian flag being raised on a Formula1 podium?

JPM: I thought it was really exciting. You know the first four races have been very hard for me, we have been competitive in some races, and some not so much. Here I was not expecting to be on the podium. Really, I started eleventh, and the start was really goo. It moved up a lot of places and then I kept pushing all day long.

Q: Now was that a launch control start or was that a Juan Pablo Montoya start?

JPM: It was launch control.

Q: You have been saying all week that you were having problems getting the car settled, was it much better in race trim?

JPM: It was a bit better, but it wasn't massively different. The car was still tricky to drive and, you know, compared to Michael and the McLarens as well - they were in a different league this weekend, and there is a lot of work to be done for the next race.

Q: Jacques, welcome back to the podium, the first conference since 1998, the first podium for BAR. You must be absolutely delighted.

JV: Yeah its great. The whole team, everybody in the team, has worked really hard for the last three years, and the beginning of this season has been really, really hard. The podium is great - I think it is the boost that everyone is needing

Q: Now obviously a couple dropped out, where do you think the true level of BAR is at the moment?

JV: We couldn't have gone any quicker today. The car was hard to drive but it was difficult for everybody. We were a little bit lucky that a few cars dropped out, but then the team did a great job in the pit stops and that allowed us to jump Trulli in the first pit stop, and then we just hung in there.

Q: Michael, you had a problem today, you had a problem in Imola. You had a set-up problem in Brazil, you had a superb victory, but are you concerned about these reliability issues creeping into the team?

MS: You probably read much more into it than it is, but that is natural. I'm not concerned at all because in the last stint with the tyre I am pretty sure we find the reason and the solution for that, and otherwise the car was perfect. I mean as you saw it was a battle with Mika and things were going to our favour, but I am not concerned for the rest of the season.