Ralf aiming to bounce back in Monaco

The Toyota driver continued with his poor season in Barcelona, failing to make it past Q1 and then retiring from the race on lap 44 while running in 13th place following an incident with Williams' Alex Wurz on the opening lap.

Now Schumacher, who has scored just one point so far this year, is aiming to put the Spanish Grand Prix memories behind him with a strong result in Monaco.

"Spain was a disappointing weekend for me so obviously I am going to Monaco looking for a big improvement," said Schumacher in a team preview.

"Our car has improved, even if that was not clear from my results in qualifying or the race, but we still have work to do and we will be pushing hard for a better result in Monaco.

"It is always a great challenge to race at Monaco with the narrow streets and barriers so close. It's a tough race physically and mentally because you cannot afford even the smallest mistake. Overtaking is nearly impossible so qualifying will be very important.

"I have good memories of taking pole position in Monaco in the past so our first goal will be to qualify as high as possible to give me the best chance of a strong result. My aim for the weekend has to be to score points again and I am optimistic we have a good chance."

Teammate Jarno Trulli echoed Schumacher's comments after the Italian too endured a disappointing race in Spain.

Trulli, a winner in Monte Carlo in 2004 with Renault, is optimistic Toyota will be able to bounce back on the streets of the principality.

"I am really looking forward to Monaco because it is one of the best race weekends of the year and I have always performed well there," he said. "Of course, my victory from pole position in Monaco in 2004 is one of my happiest memories in Formula One but I have had many other good performances there as well.

"I am optimistic we can score a strong result this weekend and put what happened in Spain behind us."