Feature: Refreshed Schumacher Ready for More Wins
Ferrari's Michael Schumacher is refreshed and ready to set more Formula One records in Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix.
Ferrari's Michael Schumacher is refreshed and ready to set more Formula One records in Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix.
The German, his fifth World Championship wrapped up in record-breaking time, will become the first driver to win 10 times in a single season if he triumphs again at the Hungaroring.
The odds favour him, having led Brazilian Rubens Barrichello untroubled in a majestic Ferrari one-two there last year to secure his fourth title, and he is looking forward to another Hungarian celebration.
Ferrari are 65 points clear of Williams in the Constructors' Championship and could mathematically secure the retention of their title in Hungary.
"I don't suppose it will surprise anyone that I am really looking forward to Budapest," Schumacher declared on his official website on Tuesday ahead of the 13th round of the Championship.
"I almost get butterflies all over again when I remember the Hungarian Grand Prix. The race there last year and gaining the World Championship title were unforgettable events. After the short break...I feel fresh and hungry for the remaining races this season, which I can drive without any pressure."
Qualifying is crucial ahead of the second slowest race on the calendar in which overtaking is almost impossible under normal circumstances. Despite nine wins in 12 races, Schumacher has qualified on pole only four times this year and until setting the fastest lap for his home Grand Prix at Hockenheim last month had been off the front row twice in three races.
Coulthard's Hope
Barrichello will again have the use of the spare Ferrari as the Italian team try to leapfrog him ahead of second-placed Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya and Williams teammate Ralf Schumacher in the overall standings.
Williams, who have scored points in every Hungarian Grand Prix bar one since 1986, and McLaren can harbour real hopes of clambering getting back on the top step of the podium. The Hungaroring is similar to Monaco in tightness and just 25 km/h a lap faster on average.
McLaren's David Coulthard won in Monaco this year, after Montoya had taken pole there, and his team bosses said afterwards that they did not expect to be truly competitive again until Hungary.
"Realistically, the only other race we have got a chance of winning this year is Hungary," McLaren technical director Adrian Newey said back in May. In fact, McLaren showed in France - when Finland's Kimi Raikkonen led Schumacher until the last five laps - that their Mercedes-powered car is already a step up on the start of the season.
Coulthard can still take second place in the Championship and would love to win in Hungary for the first time after following former teammate Mika Hakkinen to two triumphs there in 1999 and 2000. The Scot has been on the podium in Hungary for the past four years and has been second three times since 1995.
Montoya, with five poles in a row up to Hockenheim, also wants his first win of the season.
Better Package
"We definitely have a better package this season," he said. "Even if it's not one of my favourite tracks, I definitely intend to make the best of it."
Ralf Schumacher, Montoya's Williams teammate, would also like to hold up his older brother's date with history.
"The motivation is not so much about winning second place in the Drivers' Championship behind my brother Michael, but about our intention to catch up with Ferrari before the end of the season," he said.
"If we don't manage to achieve this, it will make next season very difficult. Budapest will indicate how strong we could be in the future."
At the back of the grid, Briton Anthony Davidson is due to make his Formula One race debut as a stand-in replacement for Malaysian Alex Yoong at Minardi. There may be only 10 teams at the start, with mystery surrounding the financially struggling Arrows team's plans to participate on Tuesday.
The team have yet to name a second driver after Germany's Heinz-Harald Frentzen was released from his contract last week after expressing concern about Arrows' future.
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