Barrichello: Shunt won't affect Schuey

The reigning world champion hit the barriers head-on at Monza's second chicane during testing last Tuesday (July 17). The car was destroyed in the accident, having slid along the guard rail for some time before coming to rest with its' front end wedged under the barrier. Ferrari believes that the accident was caused by damage to the undertray robbing the car of downforce. Schumacher suffered no injuries in the shunt and has since passed a fitness test.

"As soon as I head about Michael's accident, I called him on the mobile but I guess he must have been flying home at the time," said Barrichello. "When you or your team-mate has an accident, the important thing is to establish what caused it."

With a 37-point lead over David Coulthard and only six races to go, only an injury or a similar freak incident can realistically stop Schumacher taking the title. But Barrichello believes that Tuesday's accident will not have any long-term effect on his team-mate.

"We are here to drive and race. People forget that we do this job because we love it, so I am sure the incident will not affect him," he said.

The main result of Schumacher's accident from Barrichello's point of view was that he had to cut down on his golf practice to take over Ferrari's test programme.

"I was actually playing golf when the team called me," he said. "Michael's accident has meant that I am doing more testing than planned. I was not due to run at the Monza test until Friday but I started driving on Wednesday instead."

The Monza test was in preparation for next weekend's German Grand Prix at Hockenheim, a circuit with similar high-speed characteristics to Monza. Although the cars are in very different configurations on the fast tracks, Barrichello added that there was little change for the drivers.

"You get used to the speed very quickly, even though we are approaching 360kph down the straights at Hockenheim," he said. "It can feel exciting at the start of the weekend, but after a couple of laps you just get used to it again."