Todt Hopes Bad Luck Ends this Year

Following more troubles in the Japanese Grand Prix, including the fact that Michael Schumacher was the first man to encounter the worst of the weather during qualifying after committing to intermediate tyres, Todt is hoping that the continued setbacks will be countered by better fortune next year.

"Qualifying mainly went to our disadvantage but it's better to get all the shit in one year and start better for next year, but it happens," he said. "We have been so successful, so fortunate in the past so it's just a bad cycle. For us, we just have to learn from it and improve where we have to improve."

Todt's belief that the team will benefit from their errors this year is not backed by Michael Schumacher, however, who claims that he will not be taking on board many lessons from the year.

When asked what he believed he learned in 2005, he said: "Not much. We lost somehow our speed and never found it again. One thing that became clear is that racing can also be fun without winning. But that I knew before."

And although World Champion Fernando Alonso has said he considers Schumacher the favourite for next year's World Championship, the man himself is not reading too much into those comments.

"Well, it would sound a tad arrogant if he would name himself, no?" said Schumacher. "But stuff like that should not be taken too seriously. Far more important is that we get a competitive car for next year and then we take it from there."