The Championship is Not Over, Says Schumacher

Michael Schumacher could win his fourth WC title well before the end of the 2001 season but the German, informed that one British bookmaker was already paying out on him retaining his crown, advised caution. And he said he had no intention of switching to a more tactical approach as the title beckoned.

"Certainly, I don't think that," he said when asked if he felt the Championship was finished. "It's not over until it's mathematically over even though we are in a comfortable position. You drive instinctively, so if I have a choice to take the win, I'll take it."

Sunday's race could give Schumacher a 51st win, equalling the record of France's four times World Champion Alain Prost and taking another big step towards his own fourth title. But he said history was not uppermost in his mind.

"The statistics are secondary. To come here and to try to win it is exciting enough in itself. I don't feel more excited for this particular factor but once I have done it maybe my feeling will change. It will be a special moment but maybe not in the way certain people like to think."

Schumacher also had a thought for his parents and how they coped with the excitement of watching him and his brother Ralf, in the Williams, battle each other for victory in recent races.

"My father is always close to it (a heart attack)," grinned Schumacher. "I don't think his heartbeat can go higher than it is anyway. It's higher than ours. Once he was sitting with a heart rate (measurer) in front of the monitor and it was about 170 and it wasn't a race that we were fighting for.

"But what can we do. I told him to go away, don't watch it but he said 'I can't do that'."