The Hill - Schumacher Interview
12.1.00

At the Suzuka race, the final round of the 1999 World Championship, Damon Hill interviewed Michael Schumacher on behalf of F1 Racing magazine. Here is a transcript of that fascinating encounter :

Damon Hill Michael, I've never done an interview before - so you'll have to bear with me.

Michael Schumacher Are you interviewing me? I thought we were just going to have a chat.

DH: Well, I thought I'd ask you some questions - but Matt [Bishop, F1 Racing's Group Editor] is here to interject if necessary, to make sure it doesn't all end up in a fight.[ Laughter]
MS: Please, Damon, no fighting! [More laughter]

DH: Okay, first question: how does it feel to be interviewed by another driver?
MS: Er, a little bit strange. But it's a bit like when people like Jochen Mass [German TV commentator and ex-F1 driver], ex-drivers, start doing a media job. It is a bit strange.

DH: Well, as you know this is my last race...
MS: Don't tell me - you're going to carry on now, eh?

DH: You don't believe me? Well, it's my last Formula 1 race anyway. But we can presume we're going to see you around for a bit longer. How long do you think you're going to carry on racing? Do you have an objective, a point you're aiming at, after which you'll decide...
MS: How long before you knew you were going to stop?

DH: Er, I'm supposed to be asking the questions here, Michael! [Much laughter]

DH: But, seriously, I've always had in the back of my mind the idea that the age of 40 is a threshold.
MS: Yes? But at the beginning of this year were you already sure that this would be your last season?

DH: No, I wanted to see how well I could do. And, I think, for me, the competitive aspect was the main thing. I expect it's the same with you - you know, you want to race to win. And as long as you can win, you'll want to carry on.
MS: Win? Or be satisfied with what you're doing? Sometimes you have a car you can't win with, but if you still feel reasonably good compared with your team-mate or whatever, well, then you're okay.

DH: Yes.
MS: But did you have other reasons, like family, why you wanted to stop?

DH: Like you have now. A family, I mean.
MS: Yes. I do have a family. But I don't find that enough reason to say I'll only do it for one more year or two more years or whatever. I don't know. A couple of years ago I said I'd do it for five more years, but I also remember that when I started I said I'd only do it for three or four years and then I'd stop. And now I'm here almost 10 years, so ... it's okay just as long as you still enjoy it and things are going well. But I think I probably won't stay until 40! [Laughter]

DH: Somewhere out there is the next Michael Schumacher - somewhere out there, lurking in the shadows. Like when you came into Formula 1, Ayrton [Senna] was around; it happens to every champion that there's someone, a successor. What would be interesting would be to see something like that happening again. Because, currently, you're pretty dominant in F1.
MS: Hmm. It's something you need to... Well, it'll be a new experience for me, because my career has always been me being young, starting up, and fighting against older people and trying to beat them. And being reasonably successful. Then at some stage I'll probably have to have the new experience where a new young guy is coming. And I never like these comparisons - you know, to talk about a new Schumacher or a new Senna - because if there's a new guy coming then he'll have a new character. He'll be a new independent person and he'll make his own name. But one day that will happen. My father always tells me, "If that happens, you'd better stop," because then it may become dangerous, he means. And I think he's right, because then you may try to extend your limits to keep up with what he's doing. And that can be dangerous.

DH: Is your father an important guide in your career?
MS: Not in detail - but, in general, yes. But, as I say, not in detail because it's very difficult to keep outside people informed about exactly what we're doing. But he looks at my career from the outside and he tells me his opinion. And this particular opinion of his, the one I just mentioned, when you think about it, well, he's quite right. And he's always been very realistic like that. But he's also always left me the freedom to decide my own way, and he's given me good ideas and good advice in general.

DH: I believe he owns a kart track. Is that right?
MS: Yes.

DH: Is that how you came into the sport?
MS: Well, basically, we didn't own it initially. We were quite poor, to be honest - and when I was 10 we didn't even have the money to continue karting. And then we developed this kart rental business, which was owned by the club, and it's only for three years now that we've had our own kart circuit.

DH: But your father certainly encouraged you early on. That's true, isn't it?
MS: My father is not the typical motorsport father - you know, the kind of person who has always loved motorsport, has always been going to races, has always watched racing on TV. Not at all. He was a builder, and he simply loved working with tools and all that kind of thing. So he loved to be messing about in the garage and all that. And one day he decided on a strange idea to take my go-kart - a kids' go-kart, which I wasn't using any more - and take an old motorcycle and put its engine in the kart. So that was how it happened - not because he always wanted me to become what I am now. We were simply having fun, father and son building up a hobby together.

DH: Yes, that's interesting. I have been watching you very carefully over the years, certainly in the early part of my F1 career, and your confidence is very apparent from the outside. It's your trademark, and it's often referred to as arrogance. But what fascinates me is where you get this self-belief from, this confidence. When in your career did you start to think you could beat anyone and everyone? Or do you never think like that, in fact?
MS: No, I don't actually think like that. I don't have the kind of confidence you may think I have. Not at all. Actually, I question myself very often. When things don't go well, I always question myself first. And I try very hard - I will never give up trying. So, you know, personally I don't believe I have as much self-belief as people think from the outside. But then in relation to my competitors, I don't know. I can't know what their level of self-belief is. I can't say that.

DH: But at the key moments... I mean, I don't know you outside of a racing environment, but inside racing you have a very inscrutable face, if you like. We don't see much of what you're feeling, when you're at a racetrack.
MS: It's difficult with a helmet, huh? [Laughter]

DH: Yes, that's true.
MS: Yes, but seriously, you know, what do journalists really see of us? I mean, first of all, emotions. Look at [Mika] Hakkinen now. He showed some emotions, some humanity, at Monza - and what did the journalists make of it? Not all journalists, I know, but some journalists. I mean, they screwed him with it. A lot of them screwed him. So what should you try to do? Well, you should try to keep a balance, a medium, and that way you don't show everything you're feeling to the outside world. Because if you do, it's usually used against you in a bad way. So you do a professional job, and doing a professional job sometimes means you're not really doing what is human, what is natural. But unfortunately, these days, in the media, even if there's a good story, some good news, there will always be a small percentage of journalists who will turn it into a bad story, bad news. So you protect yourself. And all of us are doing that, I think, to some degree.

DH: Well, I understand what you're saying. You can't always win this one. But my feeling is that, yes, you have to be very professional as a driver, but the sport survives because of human interest. I mean, look, your trademark used to be, when you got up onto the podium, you'd jump up, stick your fist in the air - even if you were second. And I used to get really ... I mean, I used to say to myself, "He's second! What's he doing? I won the race!" [Laughter]
MS:Yes, too often.

DH: Yes, but, you see, there you are showing emotion, aren't you? So sometimes you do feel it's okay to show emotion in public.
MS: I think I probably haven't answered your question absolutely correctly, because there was one occasion where I showed... Er, in my view I'm a very stable person. I don't have many ups or downs. I'm fairly stable. That's why my emotions are not often seen as that dramatic - certainly not as dramatic as maybe people want to see. And it really takes a lot to make that happen. You have seen me very often - like you say, it's my trademark - being excited; you have seen me very rarely being depressed and showing those kind of other emotions. But I think there was one good example of that, and that was Spa last year [where Schumacher collided with David Coulthard]. But luckily I'm not often in that mood. And it takes a lot to bring me to that mood, because I'm fairly stable and I don't need that kind of thing - the kind of thing you see with some pop stars or movie stars, you know, extremes of emotion.

DH: Okay. Do you have any ambition to beat motor racing records - like, you know, numbers of world titles. You know, [Alain] Prost won four, [Juan Manuel] Fangio won five. Is that a motivation?
MS: It has some priority. But it's not the first priority. The first priority is to become champion for Ferrari. And then some way down the road, you know, you could say, "I've done it twice, so..." But then that would be three times already, so then you might say maybe you can do it even more times than that. But it's not really my first thing; I just take it as it comes. DH; What if, this weekend, Eddie [Irvine] wins the championship? Does that in some way rob you of a trophy that you wanted to win for yourself?
MS: Possibly, yes. Possibly, yes. But if that happens I can probably say that I will have two-and-a-half championships.[ Much laughter]

DH: I don't think they give out half-championships, Michael.
MS: Well, they will have to cut me at least a slice of Eddie's championship then! But, seriously, for sure, I will feel a bit disappointed. Because after such a long time I would have wanted to do it for them [Ferrari]. But everyone knows the reason why that hasn't happened, and therefore I can live with it. If I had made my own mistake and therefore not achieved it, it would probably be a lot harder for me.

DH: Do you ever feel that it might be good to try being equal number one with someone in a team?
MS: This story is, in my view, wrongly understood on the outside. I have never had a driver alongside me who didn't initially have the opportunity to beat me and be as equal as I am. And it is my philosophy that whoever is the faster driver should be supported by the team, because that is the best way for the championship. And that's what I have made happen. That's what I have brought to Ferrari. You saw me helping Eddie in Malaysia, for the championship, because that fits with my philosophy. And, now, Eddie is getting all the number one treatment, all the number one material, in Malaysia and here [in Japan]. So it's not that I slow down my team-mates because I tell my team, "You cannot give him the same fast material." It's not the case. They have all had the same opportunity as I have. But because I'm faster 95 per cent of the time, it looks like my team-mates are not treated equally. But it's not true.

DH: Okay, let's take Williams, for example. What if you drove for them? Even when I was there, with Alain Prost, and I was clearly number two driver to Alain, I got equal equipment at every stage of the season. Does that really happen at Ferrari?
MS: No, listen. Yes. Basically, now, Eddie and I have the same cars. And all the time I have been in any team, 95 per cent of the time the cars have been equal. There are moments when you build something new, and you rush it through, and you may build only one car like that, or one engine, and I think it's very clear who will get that: the faster driver, or the guy who's fighting for the championship. And I'm sure at Williams that would be the same. And I know right now that at Williams they may sometimes have only time to do something on one car, and they give it to whoever is the faster driver. So I think it's a normal process, and we simply follow that.

DH: Yes, okay...
MS: Sorry, Damon, to interrupt. But I remember Johnny [Herbert] criticising Benetton [in 1995, when Schumacher and Herbert were team-mates] very heavily for not treating him equally, and that was absolutely unfair. I mean, really unfair. I mean, he really got the same opportunities with the car, but he didn't use them.

DH: Okay. So can you shed any light on that? Can you shed any light on just how you're able to go quicker than the other guys?
MS: How could Ayrton Senna be quicker than his team-mates? I mean, how can I answer that?

DH: I'm talking about driving style. How would you describe your style?
MS: I think it's more a method than a style. I believe that my personal speed - compared with the drivers I've driven with, because it's only those guys I can compare myself with - may come from what you do out of your possibilities. I believe the pure speed isn't always the point; it's what you manage to get out of your potential. And that's where I've always been very successful. You know, really working deep with the team, maximising my possibilities.

DH: So, for example, we're at Suzuka. Could you give me any tips? [Laughter]
MS: Drive faster! [More laughter]

DH: No, but seriously, your style seems to have changed a bit over the years - at least I think it has. Are you aware of that?
MS: Oh yes. Definitely.

DH: I mean, in your Benetton days, the on-board camera would show you doing 6000 revs per minute with your arms! You used to be very busy in the car, and you seem to have calmed down a bit now.
MS: This is true, but I'll tell you the reason why. You remember when I left Benetton, and [Jean] Alesi and [Gerhard] Berger took their first steps in that Benetton? You remember how many crashes they had?

DH: Yes, I do remember.
MS: Well, if you had ever driven that car, Damon, you would know why I was driving it that way. I mean, that car was really unbelievable. Really difficult to drive. It was so edgy. But it was fast when you just drove it exactly on that edge. Now, though, there have been a lot of aerodynamic improvements to the cars and so the cars I have driven have been a lot more stable. And that applies to most of the cars today. I think your Jordan looks like a very stable car - from what I can see anyway, from looking at your steering on the on-board pictures.[ A Ferrari engineer enters the office. He beckons Schumacher]
MS: I have to go? Two more minutes? Okay. No, but basically, I have changed my style to some degree, yes, but it comes from the equipment that I have in front of me. Basically I have just adapted to it.

DH: Right, we're almost out of time. Is there anything else I should ask you?
MS: Anything else you want to talk about? Maybe what happened to you today [Hill had spun off the track earlier in the day during official practice]?

DH: Who, me?
MS: Yes.

DH: This isn't about me, Michael - I've told you that before![ Laughter]
MS: No, but was it just a normal 'off'? Or did you have a mechanical problem?

DH: Er, the car wasn't very nice.
MS: No?

DH: Not for me anyway. Big problem.
MS: But what is it about this year, compared with last year? I mean, the grip levels are not, in my view, so very different [with four-grooved front tyres as opposed to three-grooved ones]. So, er, why...

DH: ...I can't get a balance on the car. Not at all. Not one I like anyway. Well, that leads to a good question, actually. Because I can say I drove active [suspension] cars, cars with big fat slicks, all that. And so did you. Do you have in mind a period where there were cars that you really loved to drive? Cars that were better than others, that suited you better?
MS: Oh yes, for sure. The active cars. Because you used to set them up with so much less compromise. Now, you have to make so many compromises in the set-up, and that's very difficult. It provides some challenges, but I don't like it in particular.

DH:Yes, right.
MS: The active cars were very good - and so was the traction control too, to some degree.

DH: So if you could mix and match, what sort of Formula 1 cars would you have? Would you have slick tyres, for instance?
MS: I would prefer to have a lot more grip available, yes.

DH: Yes, me too.
MS: Yes, because I don't see any reason why we couldn't go four or five seconds faster [per lap]. I mean, that would be very easy to achieve. And, physically, it would be very easy to deal with too. We know about the safety issues and all that, but you see how easily the cars fly off the road these days - because they have so little grip. It's a lot easier to go off the road these days in my view.

DH: Yes, that's right.
MS: Yes, therefore I don't agree 100 per cent with the way the safety aspects have been handled, and I guess you'll agree with me on that.

DH: Well, I don't like these tyres, no.
MS: But do you think it's really improved safety - that the speeds are slightly slower, I mean?

DH: Well, I just liked slicks. For some reason I liked the feeling of the tyre coming in when you went out on your out-lap. You could feel the grip really coming in, and you could really feel the change there. These [grooved] tyres, by contrast, feel very numb.
MS: Yes, here especially. Here, they're a disaster.

DH: Yes, I'm glad you agree![ Laughter]
MS: But it's funny how they affect different people differently. I mean, we have certain abilities, certain talents, and all of us have them. But maybe you can use them in one area better than in another area. Maybe it's that. I mean, I have to say - and maybe, Damon, you won't like this very much - but maybe you get to an age where it becomes more difficult to adapt. Because the older you get, the more difficult it gets to adapt to new things. And that's why, in the end, the time always comes for the younger drivers to come and the older ones to go.

DH: Yes, and the new drivers don't know what it was like before, so they just deal with what they have in front of them - that's the other factor.
MS: Yes, that's a possibility too. [The Ferrari engineer re-enters the office - and loiters, gesturing to Schumacher]

DH: Last question. You know the L'Oréal ad? The hair advert? The one that says: "Because I'm worth it." Well, are you worth it? Are you worth the money? [Laughter]
MS: That is the big question, isn't it?[ More laughter]

DH: You can't answer that, can you?!
MS: No, Damon - you'll have to answer that one for me!

DH: Okay, yes. I'll work on it. Thanks for the chat.
MS: Pleasure.

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