Schumacher: title race still wide open

Schumacher, winner of three of the last four races, failed to keep his momentum going in the last race in Hungary, retiring but still managing to score a point.

The point awarded to the seven-time world champion for eighth place trimmed the overall lead of Renault's Fernando Alonso to 10 points with five races remaining and everything to play for.

"The positive news from the Hungary weekend was that I can still win by concentrating only on what I do," said Schumacher ahead of the Turkish Grand Prix. "The challenge goes on and our chances are undimmed.

"We should not make the mistake of thinking that our chances dipped after Hungary. Instead we ought to look ahead; we could have found ourselves in a much worse position at this stage of the season.

"Our desire is exactly the same and Istanbul is a very important stage on the road to the title."

In the last four races, Schumacher has reduced the gap to Alonso from 25 to 10 points.

Although Alonso, who also retired from the Hungarian Grand Prix when leading, believes Renault are back on top, Schumacher is optimistic about his chances of fighting for victory in Istanbul this weekend.

"I think things are looking good," he said. "We recall well how Magny Cours was demanding and how at Hockenheim we dominated. There was also the race at the Hungaroring where, leaving aside the weather, things went our way (though the race showed how decisive a role the weather can play).

"Overall, it is tough to predict the relative strength of the teams as they alter according to the track. I think that we should be competitive at the weekend. After all, our potential is as high as ever".