Schumacher favourite to master Monaco

Instead of strenuously playing down his chances in the race, the Championship leader has thwarted the current convention of mind games, with a rare optimistic public statement.

"I cannot deny that we go there as favourites," said Schumacher. "So far we have proved that the Ferrari is very competitive on every type of circuit, so there is no reason why we should not be up there at Monaco."

The Ferrari driver also believes it is not imperative to get pole position as he won from second on the grid last year. "Pole position at Monaco is a little bit more important than on other tracks," he said, "but then it is not impossible to win from further back. I would say that a place on the first row would be a good foundation for success."

With Schumacher in such apparent fine form, Barrichello will need his strategy to be better than at the Nurburgring if he is to get close to his team mate. The team have defended their decision to go with three stops for Barrichello which had him fuming after the European GP. Jean Todt claimed: "the advantage given by a supplementary stop was 20 seconds." Other teams remained less convinced.

A win at the principality would not only put Schumacher yet further ahead in the Championship standings but would also move him to within one victory of Ayrton Senna's record six wins.