Michael: I'm not worried

Although he is leading the point's standings, the reigning champion only has a three-point advantage over McLaren rival Kimi Raikkonen. Williams, who have been strong in the past three races after initial struggles with the FW25, have provided a further challenge.

Despite his narrow win ahead of brother Ralf's Williams in Montreal, Michael said: "As long as we keep winning races, I'm not worried and I'm not surprised by the current level of competition. We are doing as high level a job as we have done in the past but the others have picked up their game. I cannot see Ferrari having the same advantage that we had last year. There is not that much margin left.

Some see Nurburgring as a key race for Williams. The power of the BMW helped at A1-Ring and Montreal, and the short wheelbase FW25 was highly manageable in Monte Carlo, but Nurburgring will make greater demands on the aerodynamic capabilities of the car, an area where it was found lacking earlier in the year.

Schumacher, however, has said that he doesn't fear a renewed challenge from the Grove team. "I've never been afraid of competition," Michael smiled, "in some ways it makes it more interesting."