Schumacher Hoping for Rain

The Ferrari driver, however, is not confident he will be that lucky.

"We all know anything can happen in a race. I'm hoping for rain, but as far as I know the chances for rain are less than about 50 percent," said Schumacher after qualifying in fifth place.

Last year in Germany, Schumacher scored his 11th win in 12 races on the way to grabbing his seventh world title, but this season the Championship situation is very different.

After 11 races, Schumacher has won only once, and even the sole victory was at the subdued United States Grand Prix, where only six cars took place after the withdrawal of all the Michelin runners.

The ever-optimistic Schumacher has now changed his tune and is warning his local fans not too expect to much on Sunday.

"I don't think we should talk too much about winning," he said. "We should talk about getting to the podium. You have to be realistic. There's no point of dreaming to go much further in front.

"Maybe we can challenge Jenson [Button] but anything else would be very optimistic unless there are different weather conditions. Obviously rain is something we can hope for. That would mix up the field. It would be good for our fans.

"Realistically, we are not looking further up front at the moment. We know McLaren and Renault are faster, but we are usually right behind them. I'm hoping for the podium."