Schumacher Aims for Podium Finish

Schumacher, who last year scored his 11th victory of the season in Germany, already played down his chances before today's practice sessions, where he sixth and 10th fastest.

"I don't feel like promising big things to my fans," the 36-year-old told reporters at Hockenheim. "I'm not thinking about victory at all but I'll do my best to get on the podium at least."

This afternoon's times, however, were not reflective of Ferrari's form, as the Italian squad used old tyres, having fitted new ones in the morning as a consequence of the expected rain.

"I think we did a reasonable job today, getting through much of our programme in the morning session, in case we had to deal with a wet track in the afternoon, when we ended up using old tyres," said Schumacher. "The car was handling well, but as expected we lack performance.

"At this stage of the weekend, I would still hope we can manage to finish on the podium, but it will be tough."

Schumacher's teammate Rubens Barrichello finished the day in 16th position but is confident he will be strong tomorrow.

"We expected rain so we concentrated most of our effort in the early part of the day, so I did not get the benefit of running with new tyres when the track was at its best," said Barrichello.
 
"But I have a good idea about what I want to do in terms of tyre choice, so I am confident that tomorrow will be a good day, whatever the weather."