Q. Michael, as someone who is well versed in winning championships, what are the ingredients that are needed to win a championship, particularly when you are opposing your teammate, who is very challenging? What factors are there which are crucial to winning a title?
MS: I don't think I can give the answer you're looking for in mentioning one particular part, because it's like a detailed or small piece or puzzle of the big picture. You have to have all those little bits together to finally do it.
Q. You talked how you were still very confident in yourself about achieving what you want to do. Has that confidence been knocked at all, because it's taken you longer than you thought it might have done to achieve something in your first year back?
MS: Naturally you wish to go straight ahead with this, thinking, before I was finally able to drive the car, where we'd been last year with the team. You sort of think that there might be a possibility to continue on from there, but then it's easy and clear enough to understand why that is and was not possible. That's about it. You just understand and realise the situation and work from there on.
Q. Sebastian, sorry if I've missed something but perhaps you could just clarify this incident with your leg that you had at the beginning of the week?
SV: I fell down when I was running. Nothing special but I had a bit of a hyper-extension of the muscle on the leg, nothing big. I can walk, it's not a disaster.
Q. Mark, "not bad for a number two driver". You're above Sebastian in the standings now. Should you win on Sunday, what will be your cry over the team radio this time?
MW: I think it would be like it normally is, it's a great team effort. It was said in the heat of the moment at Silverstone and that's what was said but we're both treated very equally in the team and as I said at the time, I would never have continued in that situation. That's why I am continuing, so technically the cars are to give both of us a really fair crack and I'm looking forward to trying to have that big problem on Sunday if I can, to work out what I might say.
Q. Seb, I'm sure you're not too young to have watched Michael win some of his World Championships. What did you learn from what you saw when you watched when he was competing and when he won World Championships?
SV: Many things. I think from great champions there are always a lot of things you can learn, and also if you look outside the table of Formula 1, if you look at others sports – tennis, golf - there are great players, great individuals. They're probably all talented but then there are one or two popping out, like probably at the moment Roger Federer and Nadal in tennis. What did I learn from Michael? I think you just need to listen to what he says. Obviously in the past I was watching mainly, like he said even now. Obviously he himself knows best which situation he is in at the moment. Obviously there are a lot of expectations from the outside but it's part of being a great champion, being wise enough to know what you have to focus on. As he said, there are always two worlds: one is the entertainment and one is the sporting side. I think we clearly understood that he is focusing more on the sporting side and trying to come back and win races again. I could give you many examples but I think that was the lesson of the last ten minutes, I guess.
Q. Michael, how different is it for you now, coming back to your home race and not being the dominant driver and not actually being the dominant German driver?
MS: It probably evolves into the same answer that I sort of mentioned before, because it is very clear that we are not in the position to come here and win the race, because as a package, we are not yet strong enough to do so. But, for us, we fight for our possibilities of results and if we could manage a podium, that would be a great and a fantastic result for us, for the fans, for our supporters, and that's what we're aiming for.
Q. Michael, you spoke about your final target that you had in your mind. Can you categorically confirm that you will be driving for Mercedes in 2011, and in which case what is your final...
MS: Yes!
Q. And in which case what is your final target for that season?
MS: For this or next season?
Q. Next.
MS: It's what I mentioned the day that I officially publicized that I was rejoining Formula 1 and it is to win another title, that's our aim, that's what my focus is and that's what I'm here for. Very clearly.
Q. On that point, Norbert Haug says that next season you're going out to win the title. You will be another year older. What will actually change then?
MS: I don't know of anything other than becoming even wiser.
Q. I just wanted to ask Mark what the reception has been like here from the fans? Is there any sense that you're the rival to their local hero?
SV: No, I think it's been a very good reception so far. I think motorsport here in Germany has a huge following. I think there's a lot of guys who obviously followed Michael in his day, and now there's fresh blood, fresh talent, more people on the grid because of what Michael achieved, so they have a better knowledge of the sport, I suppose. They know there's a bit of bullshit here and there which comes with the sport, and I suppose they like to watch the racing unfold. I drove for Mercedes Benz here, I did a lot of testing here with the sports car, so I have a little bit of a feeling for the guys. Obviously I'm not German but in terms of I have a feeling for how they follow their motorsport, so it's a good time for me to drive here, at that part of my career as well.
Q. Mark, is there a psychological advantage to winning this race, beating Seb, assuming the two of you are at the front and battling for victory, is there a psychological advantage to winning this race?
MW: Not all the drivers on the grid have the luxury of having a home race, so the guys here do. Obviously I have an Australian race, there's the British Grand Prix. I think last year we all shared the victories around. I think Jenson won my race, I won his race, and Seb won someone else's race, and I won Rubens' race, so it was always moving around. It is a unique thing, obviously, to win your home race and of course it would be right up there with Sebastian's highlights to try and do that, so it's a slightly different event in many ways. Also, on the other side of the coin, it's another 25 points, it's a normal grand prix. It maybe has a little bit more emotion around it for the German drivers. It doesn't mean anything more special to me to win here, so psychologically it doesn't do anything for me, but for the home drivers it's a nice place to win.