Schumacher still believes
Michael Schumacher claims self-belief will be the key to winning his eighth world championship and heads to Silverstone this weekend refusing to give up hope of catching Fernando Alonso.
The Ferrari driver is 29 points adrift of Renault rival Alonso with just nine races remaining – and 90 points up for grabs.
He has yet to beat Alonso in a straight fight but arrives in Northamptonshire for this weekend’s British Grand Prix insisting self-confidence can propel him to a sixth consecutive title.
He said: “We have already improved and there is no reason why we cannot continue to do so.
“The important thing is to persevere and believe in ourselves. We have to stay as calm as we have been until now and concentrate on the work to be done.
“Firstly, the second half of the season begins now and logic dictates that the gap is still bridgeable. Secondly, I am a realist and as such am a lover of mathematics – there is still the probability of winning.
“Formula One is such a changeable sport that it would be foolish to give up on the title. We are not so foolish. As I have said, we have to focus on getting back to the top. We will be trying to do this at Silverstone this weekend.”
Like virtually every track on the Formula One calendar, Schumacher has fond memories of Silverstone having won there three times but the German also broke his leg in a heavy crash in 1999 to sour his recollections of the track.
However, Schumacher is still a fan of Silverstone and is looking forward to finally getting back to the top in front of his British fans.
“The Silverstone circuit calls for very good balance, even better than at Nurburgring,” he said.
“Everything related to the set up has to be in perfect harmony. However, reaching this objective is the stimulus for new challenges.
“Another positive aspect of Silverstone is that there are lots real Formula One fans and this, naturally, pleases me.
“Without a doubt, we intend to give the fans a good show. In this case, this means that we will be racing for the win.
“We are quick enough to be in with a shout of victory and this is obvious.”
