Schumacher wants 'home' win for fans

The world champion reckons that racing in front of a home crowd has raised Ferrari's expectations for Imola, although he admits that the team is in for another hard fight.

"I always wait anxiously for Imola," said Schumacher. "In a way it is my first home race, when we can surely count on the support of our fans. This can only bring out a sense of positive expectancy.

"It is clear that we will have to fight all the way, considering that things could have gone better for us recently, but the approach would have remained the same if we had been through a successful period because then we would have felt almost obliged to get a result."

Schumacher is expecting another strong performance from McLaren, which has won two of the opening three races of the season, although he is confident Ferrari can compete against the team.

"I think that McLaren will again perform well: something we expected right from the beginning of the season, but I think that we can also challenge for the win. Our aim is to give out fans something to celebrate, and where better to start them Imola?"