1995 FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMNPIONSHIP Race No.16
GRAND PRIX OF JAPAN -- SUZUKA, JAPAN
OCTOBER 27-29, 1995

EXCERPTS FROM FIA INTERVIEWS, FRIDAY OCTOBER 27, 1995

Present for today's interview are: Michael Schumacher, Karl Wendlinger,
Mika Salo, Eddie Jordan (Jordan team owner) and Tom Walkinshaw (Ligier
team pricipal).


Q. Michael, what have you been doing in the past few days since
retaining your World Championship in Aida?

SCHUMACHER: Staying in bed and recovering from Sunday night! That was
the most important thing, because I had quite a hangover. I drank beer
first, then wine, and that was the wrong thing. You definitely should
not mix those two. Afterwards, I was in Tokyo, attending several
functions with Mild Seven. It was quite nice, not too hectic, and we had
time to see several sights and to relax, more or less.

Q. Has the significance sunk in?

SCHUMACHER: Yes, it has sunk in, but there are two reasons why I haven't
been able to spray out so many emotions. The first is that Nurburgring
was the most important race, in terms of settling the drivers'
championship. I did a good race there and I almost secured the
championship. The other reason is that I haven't fulfilled the other
goal that I set for myself this season, which is to get the
constructors' championship, as well. This will have to be achieved
before I can feel really relieved and be able to start expressing my
emotions.

Q. Karl, how do you feel?

WENDLLINGER: I feel quite good. I am happy to be back and to be taking
part in races, rather than testing or staying home. That's more or less
what I have been doing since May, when the team made a change in
line-up. This year I have done two races and two test sessions, which is
not a lot of running. The testing at Mugello last week went well.
Timewise, it was quite quick, and it wasn't just one fast lap; it was
several. For this reason Mr. Sauber decided to put me back in the car
for the last two races, to see if there has been any improvement since
the beginning of the year. I feel more confident. I feel in better shape
(and) mentally, I am stronger.

Q. This is a tough circuit at which to be making your return.

WENDLINGER: You're right. It's hard physically, and challenging, too.
From the physical side, a practice day like today is no problem. I just
had to find the right line and the limit as quickly as possible. It
makes a race weekend quite a lot different from testing, when there are
not so many pressures. But I am not matching up well enough yet. I still
have to improve.

Q. Tom, we know that sponsorship is vital, which presumably is why so
many people believe you are interested in Pedro– Paulo Diniz for Ligier.
Can you tell us what the situation is?

WALKINSHAW: Chasing Diniz? I have not heard that talk. I have been in
Disneyland all week. I have been separated from all this reality. I have
not been in touch with Diniz. It is too early for us to say what we are
doing as far as sponsorship and drivers are concerned. We made a
conscious decision on the subject when Eddie found himself with too much
money to spend and took Brundle. We have no plans for any driver yet,
and we are happy to wait. We already have some plans to go to Mugello at
the end of the season to test some young drivers. I will then make up
my mind about what I want for a driver line-up next year, but not until
then.

Q. Who will be driving for you in Adelaide?

WALKINSHAW: Aguri will have done his two races in Japan by then. We
should be running Martin and Olivier, which is what was always planned.
Martin has done a lot of good work for us in the past, and now he has an
opportunity with Eddie which I think will be good for both of them. All
the negotiations have been done very correctly. At the time, I wasn't in
a position to do anything with Martin, so I have wished him all the best
for the future.

Q. Mika, what does it mean to be racing here in Japan?

SALO: It's exactly one year since my first F1 race. It's good. I didn't
make any big mistakes, and everything still seems OK. In my four years
in Japan, I drove a lot here at Suzuka. Maybe 30 races, altogether, and
all of the tire testing for my F3000. It's an important circuit to know
well. There are a lot of places where you can shorten the lap, and there
are blind corners, all of them very important.

Q. Eddie, it has been said that the step of stepping into being one of
the big three teams is bigger than the step of forming an F1 team. Does
it just need one major sponsor?

JORDAN: I don't know how big that leap is. I can only assume and dream.
I have to say that our introduction into F1 in 1991 was such that I was
very unsure to build a car (and) put it on the track. To actually get to
Adelaide was a massively daunting project. On reflection, if it was the
same level of commitment and the same level of pain to get to the top
three, I wouldn't mind going through that level of pain again, because
if it is the equal, then I would be reasonably acceptable towards it. It
is quite an exciting prospect, and something we want to achieve. I
believe that we have the people, the commitment and above all, the
passion to win Grands Prix and eventually championships.

Data courtesy Marlboro Sports Data System
Edited by Robert Heathcote, for SpeedNet

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