Schuey predicts close battle for title

The German Ferrari driver made the claim after throwing away his world championship lead at the Canadian Grand Prix.

'Ferrari and McLaren are more or less equal,' he said. 'We have finally caught McLaren, and I believe we can challenge them at every race.'

Schumacher believes he will be able to regain ground at the French Grand Prix next weekend.

'We have always been strong at Magny-Cours,' he said, 'and I see no reason why we shouldn't be again.'

He shrugged off his mistake in Canada, which has left him four points behind Mika Hakkinen in the title chase.

Schumacher said, 'It seems that I commit one big mistake a year, and I'm pretty pleased it is behind me.

'It was immensely slippery at that [last corner]. They filled the holes there with sand before the race and after a couple of laps it was already on the track.

`But it was slippery for everyone, so I can only blame myself.'