Schumacher bullish on title chances

Seven times world champion Schumacher has won the last two races, including Renault's home French Grand Prix, to cut Alonso's overall lead. The Spanish driver is still a solid 17 points ahead of Schumacher, with seven races - 70 points - remaining.

But following his two successive victories, Schumacher is confident he can turn the tables, despite Alonso not needing to win again to secure the title.

"Things can change at the drop of a hat in Formula One," said Schumacher. "A comfortable lead can melt away and disappear just like that. We're all focused on our goal - put on the pressure, gain ground, win again.

"If we manage to do that, the tables can turn quickly. Maybe we'll manage to turn the rest of the season into an interesting fight for the title once again.

"I don't suppose I need to stress the fact that we're very keen (on winning the title). I think anyone can tell. I can feel it within the team. Our fighting spirit is going strong, we want to secure this title."

Schumacher will be looking for his third consecutive victory of the season on home ground this weekend, and despite his confidence, the Ferrari driver is not making any predictions for the race.

"We should be able to do well at Hockenheim, but on the other hand we've had to experience recently that the smallest things can disturb performance immensely," he added.

"So I'd like to wait before making any predictions. Just one thing is 100% sure: we'll do our very best. We want to leave Hockenheim as winners."

Alonso won at Hockenheim last year on his way to becoming the sport's youngest champion.