Analysis: Schumacher turns 37

"Let's hope for a better season," said the German on his website after the dominance of 2004 translated into a depressing 2005. "It's not looking too bad...there are many things pointing in a good direction.

"Most of all, I see the same fighting spirit (at Ferrari) that I feel," said Schumacher. "We're all on the same page; we want to play a major role in the fight for the title (in 2006). So we're going to go for it again."

The oldest driver on the Formula One starting grid - and also the most successful ever with his 84 wins, 142 podiums and 1,248 points scored - knows he cannot defy time for much longer.

With Renault and McLaren dominant last year, and Toyota spending heavily to move into contention, he faces an uphill challenge.

Since the 1960s, only three men have won championships while 37 or older and the last was France's Alain Prost in 1993, his final season when he was 38.

"He won't win another World Championship," Finland's former champion Keke Rosberg told F1 Racing magazine last month, disagreeing with plenty of other insiders who believe tyre and engine rule changes will only help the German.

"The world - and the World Championship - now belongs to the young ones."

Raikkonen Available

Ferrari have said Schumacher is welcome to stay on after his contract expires at the end of the year and he has said he wants to continue for as long as he is enjoying himself.

But the situation has been complicated by world champion Fernando Alonso's surprise move from champions Renault to McLaren for 2007.

With Schumacher now entering the twilight of his career, however competitive he remains, there is a clear successor to the German available for next year in Kimi Raikkonen.

Ferrari have openly admired the Finn since he finished runner-up to Schumacher in 2003, with paddock speculation suggesting he may even have a pre-agreement with the team.

Raikkonen's McLaren contract expires this year and the 26-year-old is now the hottest property on the market.

With 24-year-old Alonso spoken for, Ferrari need a star for the post-Schumacher era and cannot wait much longer to see what their greatest champion wants to do.

With Brazilian Felipe Massa signed only for 2006 at Ferrari, Schumacher and Raikkonen could be paired up next year but the wage bill would be colossal.

Raikkonen would also not move unless he could be guaranteed at least equal terms on the track with his teammate, thereby ending Schumacher's current pre-eminence.

Were Raikkonen to stay where he is, Ferrari would then have to contend with a 'super-team' reminiscent of McLaren's Ayrton Senna-Prost pairing of 1988-89.

Schumacher has said repeatedly that he will not drive for another team after a decade at Ferrari but, as Alonso and McLaren showed, Formula One has a habit of springing surprises.

Some in the media have already wondered whether the German might be tempted to join Ferrari-powered Red Bull for a final fling in an Adrian Newey-designed car in 2007.