Schumacher Ready to Push to Clinch Title in France

Reigning World Champion Michael Schumacher has insisted he will do as much as he can to win his fifth world title at this weekend's French Grand Prix despite earlier claims that he would rather win in Germany at the following race.

German Schumacher, who set a new lap record at Ferrari's Fiorano test track last Friday with the dominant F2002 car, can win the title if he wins the race and his closest rivals Juan Pablo Montoya and Rubens Barrichello finish third or lower.

Schumacher said he will be pushing as hard as ever to secure that victory, which could set up the quickest World Championship victory in history.

"We will definitely try to do it at Magny-Cours," said Schumacher. "I would certainly like to win at Magny-Cours but that doesn't mean I will have won the whole Championship. That is not just dependent on me, it also depends on where my co-competitors are placed. It will not be easy there, but we can be confident given the package we have."

Schumacher has not retired from a race since the German Grand Prix last year, and if he continues that run at Magny-Cours he will have completed a full season of consecutive races without a single retirement.

The team are continuing to develop the Ferrari F2002 car to keep the Italian team ahead of the game, and Schumacher believes that the closer partnership with Japanese tyre manufacturers Bridgestone has been a key part of the season.

"We have probably simply worked better, especially in the area of tyres," said Schumacher. "With Bridgestone we have a partner who can tailor-make the tyres for us. That is definitely an advantage because tyres are an important factor.

"But generally it is down to the fact that we work very hard and constructively and this means we can take the credit for all our successes in terms of reliability and speed."