Hakkinen pressures Schumacher

"If I were in Michael's shoes I would be getting a little bit worried at seeing us pick up two wins in a row - more than that, two 1-2 finishes," he said.

Hakkinen last won this race two years ago while Schumacher has not been on the top step of the podium at the Nurburgring - the German circuit closest to where he grew up in Kerpen - since 1995.

After back-to-back wins for McLaren and one win and one second place the Finn has sliced Schumacher's lead to just 14 points.

"The gap is not that big considering there are still 12 races to go. If I was him I would be looking over my shoulder," he said

"In this sport something weird always happens.

Hakkinen's mood was boosted by his opening win of the season two weeks ago in Barcelona.

"Spain was the turning point of my season last year and I feel it could be the same this year as well," he said.

"Although the pressure is on me to perform I have two titles behind me and I am able to handle it better.

"We understand the car a lot better now. We learned a lot and I am looking forward to putting that into practice.

"I think we have cracked our reliability problems too."