AIDA, JAPAN - (Courtesy Marlboro Sports Data System)
Transcript of the pole position press conference following final
qualifying for Sunday's Pacific Grand Prix:

		 POLE WINNER'S PRESS CONFERENCE Aida, Saturday
				 April 16, 1994

1. A Senna (Williams-Renault), 1m 10.218s
2. M Schumacher (Benetton-Ford), 1m 10.440s
3. D Hill (Williams-Renault), 1m 10.771s

       (all three qualifying times from Friday afternoon session)

Q. Ayrton, we noticed that you went out several times in that session.
Why did you do that?

AS: We realized that the circuit had some oil because when the Simtek
driver [D Brabham] spun, he was losing liquid and fluid and he washed
the circuit with it. So when I went out the second time, it was just
to run the tyres for tomorrow. Then we tried again with another set.
But, with the circuit so slippery, there was no way for anybody to
[improve]. However, when I was on my first run, the car felt fine,
engine, everything worked okay. But I really don't know what happened
[when I spun.] It's odd that it happened the same for both of us. But I
really don't understand because the car had one of the best positions at
that point of the corner throughout the weekend. It was disappointing
and frustrating because it looks silly and stupid. I feel very unhappy
about it ... with myself. But [it was] better that it happened today and
not tomorrow.

Q. How do you feel about the race?

AS: We will see. We have a reliable car. This is a difficult circuit for
overtaking, but we have good speed on the straight and should improve
it. It's just a question of fine tuning.

Q. Any trouble with the low speed understeer from Brazil?

AS: We have a different problem in the low speed [corners]. Here [the
problem] is very low speed at several corners. We have to deal with it.
On the other hand, everybody uses a lot of wing, which compensates a
little bit. The surface is smoother than Brazil, too, which helps. The
car is the same, but with different conditions, different tyre compound,
different settings ... inevitably it runs a little bit different. But I
expect to see a very competitive race tomorrow.

Q. Do feel you are more competitive compared to Benetton than you were
in Brazil?

AS: No, I think it is going to be close and tight. It depends on the
whole strategy of the race, on the start and the set-up of our cars.

Q. Michael, you didn't do any flying laps this afternoon. Why not?

MS: When we saw that everyone was going slower than yesterday, we had to
think about a change that we wanted to do. Jos went out quite early, so
we made the change on his car. I just waited then until Jos had finished
his change, to get the answer. I waited until 1:45, but David Brabham
had just gone off the circuit when we decided to go out. So we made the
decision to wait until the end before trying. As soon as I went out I
discovered oil on the circuit, which was very slippery. Maybe there was
some dirt, too, and I just came back in. There was no sense in staying
out, doing nothing and wasting tyres.

Q. Talking of wasting tyres, do you have enough tyres for the race?

MS: You never have enough! We do have the seven sets, and fortunately we
didn't use our tyres very much, so we are in quite a good situation.

Q. How confident are you about the race?

MS: I have to say I feel very confident about our race settings. I
certainly prefer to be second on the grid and maybe first in the race.
But there will certainly be strong competition. I feel that we may be
stronger in the race than we have been in qualifying configuration. It
will be a hard race.

Q. Will it be as difficult to overtake here as you expected?

MS: Even MORE difficult. I see no way to pass somebody who is doing
the same speed, and today I even found it very difficult to pass the
Simtek cars -- even though they are much slower. Everybody is so close
in speed on the straight, and it is impossible to drive close to other
cars through the corners. I hope that all these [slower] people will
watch their mirrors and help us to race confidently.

Q. So pit stops will be of even more tactical importance than usual?

MS: For us, yes. Even in Brazil, although I was quicker [over the
lap] than Ayrton, I wouldn't have had the chance to pass him [from
behind] because he was so much quicker on the straights. Pit stops and
strategies will therefore be important for tomorrow.

Q. Damon, you set the fastest time this afternoon. Did you think you
could go faster than yesterday?

DH: I had lost the entire morning session, so I just wanted to get
some laps in today. I thought it was unlikely that I would improve on
yesterday's time, but I wanted to know how close I could get. My third
run was my first really fast laps of the day, so it was little untidy.
On the second run I thought I would take things more [cautiously] -- and
I spun! That was a bit worrying.

Q. Why did you and Ayrton spin in exactly the same place?

DH: I don't know! I hope it's just coincidence because we have to go
round that corner more than 80 times tomorrow. That was the first time
I have spun for a long time! The last time, I think, was at Imola --
because of a sticking throttle. It's a bit disappointing ... but of
course it was only a half spin.

Q. What was the cause of the nasty noise that we heard from your
transmission this morning?

DH: I don't know exactly, except that it was something wrong inside the
differential. When the mechanics pulled it apart it seemed to be OK, so
that kept us wondering. Once the rear of the car had been taken off I
had lost the morning session.