Reliability the key to winning

Michael Schumacher admits his Ferrari has been on the pace from day one of this season - with the reliability to make sure it scores points - while Mika Hakkinen's McLaren was plagued with problems early on in the season.

Now, it seems, this could be the decisive factor in the World Championship. Mika Hakkinen has been assured his team has fixed the problems and that he is confident in their judgements.

"There were some situations earlier in the year when we were struggling with reliability. That was one thing to make me feel uncomfortable. But that is in the past, and I am happy about the developments we can expect for the future. I have been promised that things will get a lot better."

On the other hand, Michael Schumacher has been happy with his car from the off, and it could be this fact which sees him win Ferrari's first title since Jody Scheckter triumphed back in 1979.

"This year we have already been up there since the beginning of the season. Our strong advantage has been that we have been both reliable and fast. We obviously hope to keep that and there is no reason why that should not continue."

Schumacher's Ferrari is as good as bullet proof, with the German only suffering two mechanical failures since the beginning of 1998: At the Australian Grand Prix of that year, and then at Monaco four weeks ago.