Schumi not optimistic

2003-08-04 14:41

Hockenheim - World champion Michael Schumacher admitted his crown is slipping after Sunday's German Grand Prix and that he is "not optimistic" of his chances in the remaining races.

Schumacher is now just six points ahead of new closest championship rival Juan Pablo Montoya, who overtook Finn Kimi Raikkonen in the standings after winning the Hockenheim race in dominant style.

In the last six races since Williams won their first race of the season in Monaco they have caught up 27 points on Ferrari, while Montoya has closed the gap to Schumacher by 16 points.

Schumacher is now concerned that, with four races remaining, his chances of winning a record-breaking sixth world title and helping Ferrari to their fifth consecutive constructors' crown, are rapidly falling away.

"I have said all along that we have more to be afraid about with Williams than anyone else," said Schumacher, who finished seventh on home soil in Germany on Sunday after a late race puncture dropped him from a certain second.

"You can't really say we're having a crisis but obviously I'm not exactly pleased about their dominance and at this point I'm not very optimistic. We are always hopeful but we have to be realistic."

Williams have now won four of the last six races, finishing first and second in two of them, and they have overtaken rivals McLaren to become the favourites to end Ferrari's five-year dominance.

Big crash

The team believe that they could now be leading the constructors' world championship if Ralf Schumacher had not retired on the first lap having collided with Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello and McLaren's Raikkonen.

Williams' chief operations engineer Sam Michael said: "That was another fantastic performance from the entire team. Juan drove an error-free and superb race from start to finish.

"Unfortunately we lost Ralf's car only a few seconds after the start, otherwise, I definitely believe it would have been another one-two victory for the us."

Schumacher is expecting another difficult race in Hungary in three weeks time but insisted that his current six-point advantage could still be crucial at the end of the year.

Schumacher finished second behind team-mate Barrichello in a Ferrari one-two in Budapest last year but the Italian team's dominance has been crushed this season.

They won 15 times in 17 races last year but have managed only five victories in the 12 events so far this season, and Schumacher expects Williams to benefit from the high temperatures expected in Hungary.

Same problems

"We will most likely have the same problems in Hungary that we have now," said Schumacher, whose Bridgestone tyres struggled for performance in the 38-degree heat at Hockenheim.

"But we won at Silverstone just two weeks ago and almost got second place today. There are some circuits like Canada's further down the schedule that are better suited to us and I'm still ahead and I will fight for every point."

- AFP