Schumacher ready for McLaren
Michael Schumacher has warned that Ferrari is ready to face the threat posed by McLaren's rapid new MP4/19B, which took pole position at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, and then eclipsed that pole time last week in testing, in the hands of Kimi Raikkonen
Schumacher promised there will be no letting up from him or Ferrari as he looks forward to his home grand prix at Hockenheim next weekend. And, if things go Ferrari's way, the Italian team could wrap up the Constructors' Championship there.
"We know that the McLaren is strong," Schumacher said after an intensive tyre test at Jerez last week. "But you must not forget that Ferrari is strong too. Wait and see what happens but don't forget about us.
"I have never been so successful heading into my home grand prix at Hockenheim. So it should be good, and of course, it would be nice to do well in Germany."
Asked whether he thought Ferrari would win the teams' title at the German Grand Prix he replied: "Possibly. It's going to happen sooner or later to be honest. It's difficult to avoid winning the constructors' title, but if we do it next weekend, we are looking forward to a big party afterwards."
Schumacher has already amassed 100 points from 11 races in the drivers' standings, seven more than he needed to win last year's championship, and realistically his only threat now comes from team-mate Rubens Barrichello who is 26 points behind. The first non-Ferrari driver is Jenson Button, 47 points behind Schuamcher. It would seem unlikely that Barrichello can overhaul the deficit to his team-mate now, but the German is remaining cautious.
"This is something that I have been aware of for a couple of races now," he said. "Because Rubens is very strong, like you saw [at the US GP at] Indy and will always try very hard to beat me."
This could become the most one-sided world championship in the history of Formula 1, and with rule makers and teams alike looking for ways to spice up the action, it is notable that the points leader is so far ahead despite having to overtake very few people on the track.
"This has been the same in F1 for some time now," said Schumacher on the subject. "It's the same for everyone. Of course it's nice to beat other drivers on the track, but if not we have to beat them the way we have always done, with good strategy."
Share Or Save This Story
Top 10 F1 drivers of the 1990s
Schumacher's rise: World Sportscar Championship watchalong with Anthony Davidson
The key moments in Renault's F1 history as it bids farewell
Why McLaren is the only Mercedes team without the latest power unit at Silverstone
McLaren still to investigate why it's losing to Mercedes on the straights, despite same PU
Why becoming a world champion for the first time has its own pressures
What we learned from the 2026 F1 British GP sprint race and qualifying
Wolff: "Emotional" Vasseur misunderstood comments on Ferrari
F1 British GP: Antonelli takes pole position, Russell down in fourth
LIVE: F1 British GP commentary and updates – Antonelli claims pole position
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments