Schu may help Barrichello

Although Schumacher has made it clear several times since his dominant win in Japan two weeks ago that he is gunning to grab the win at Interlagos for himself, the German suggested before flying to Brazil on Monday that he would not be against offering assistance to Barrichello under the right circumstances.

"It's important that a Ferrari finishes first," said Schumacher. "Which one of the two cars it will be is not important. Rubens is a very strong driver, there's no question about that. He doesn't need anyone's help. And I'm sure that he would prefer to win by himself, and not rely on someone else helping him.

"So each one of us will drive his own race, and we'll see how it turns out in the end. But that doesn't mean that I won't help Rubens if the situation calls for it. I've said that on several occasions as well."

Schumacher spent the gap between the Japanese and Brazilian Grands Prix on holiday with his family at home and, after reflecting on his amazing 2004 campaign, he has admitted to some surprise at Ferrari's level of dominance.

"I know that we've definitely driven a lot of races this year, but to me it feels like the time just flew by," he claimed, looking back on the season. "Anyway, even before the Brazilian GP you can definitely say that it's been a more than successful year - and none of us would have dared to think that it would turn out quite like this at the beginning of the season.

"I've said this on several occasions: we had expected anything to happen, but not to be as dominating as we were. Naturally we're hoping to finish in Sao Paulo in the same style now..."

Schumacher will take part in a charity football match for UNESCO on Wednesday night at the Palmeiras FC Stadium, before his media schedule begins on Thursday.