Schu: No home help for Rubens
World champion Michael Schumacher has vowed to sign off his world championship winning 2004 campaign with victory in the season-closing Brazilian Grand Prix - and ruled out offering any assistance to team-mate Rubens Barrichello on home ground
The Ferrari ace claimed a record breaking 13th victory of the season in the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday and has made it clear that he no intention of deliberately sacrificing the opportunity to win all but four races in the 2004 campaign with victory in Interlagos on October 24.
Although Barrichello has often talked about a victory on home ground feeling as good to him as winning the world championship, Schumacher has declared that he has every intention of forcing the Brazilian to fight all the way for such an opportunity.
"Everyone likes to win his home grand prix, but I am sorry - I feel like I want to win another grand prix as well this year," declared Schumacher, who won his seventh world championship this season.
"I'm pretty sure he will be very strong. He likes the competition and he likes it if he earns it without any support. I am pretty sure of that. But first we have to do the job."
Technical chief Ross Brawn echoed Schumacher's words and believes the competition between him and Barrichello will be no different in Brazil.
"We'd like to finish the season in a good spirit but our drivers are very competitive, they are human beings and they want to beat each other," Brawn said. "It's Rubens' ambition to win Brazil but I don't think Michael is going to make it easy for him. Michael has hurt quite a lot these last few races, being beaten by Rubens, and I think today was something a little bit special. In Brazil they are going to be tough competition for each other, but we don't know where we'll be regarding the opposition. We 'll have the same new tyre in Brazil and I think that will be a big help. I think it will be a very strong race between our two drivers."
Barrichello came close to winning last year's Brazilian Grand Prix but was robbed of that chance when his car ran out of fuel while he was in the lead. The team claimed at the time that his car had suffered a fuel feed problem.
Ferrari's hopes of being the pace setters in the season closing race received a massive boost in testing at Jerez in the week after the Chinese Grand Prix when Schumacher shattered the unofficial lap record while trying out Interlagos-spec Bridgestone tyres.
The Brazilians have not had a local driver win the race since Ayrton Senna triumphed in the rain affected 1993 event.
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