Schuey: Title fight between me and Monty

Schumacher leads the championship with 82 points, three ahead of BMW WilliamsF1 driver Montoya, with McLaren's Raikkonen on 75. With ten points for a win it is possible that any of the three can win it and that a retirement would severely affect the points balance. But Schumacher reckons that Raikkonen can only catch the top two if either driver has a problem in Indianapolis or Suzuka.

"Now I think that the race for the title should be between the two of us," he said. "Raikkonen can only get into it if I or Montoya have problems or if McLaren should improve its performance."

Schumacher also expressed his surprise at the strength of Montoya's late-season challenge, although he stressed that the Colombian is a quick driver: " His car has been the surprise, it has been improved a lot.

"I don't think there are any circuits where one driver starts as winner already. It depends on one's form on the day. The winner will be whoever manages to put the best package together. This time it could be us, I'm sure of it."