Schumacher inspired by competition

Michael Schumacher may have a 23 point deficit to championship leader Fernando Alonso in the standings but the Ferrari man said the competition inspires him to keep fighting. Renault's strong performances this season have been hard for other teams to match but Ferrari has always gone well in North America and Schumacher is confident for the first of the back-to-back races in Canada.

Michael Schumacher.

Photo by xpb.cc.

"We have every reason to be optimistic," said the German. "Our car has lived up to all of our expectations so far and we have improved it continuously. I don't want to make any predictions about how that will play out at Montreal. The circuit is totally different than the last ones we were on recently and we will be using completely different aerodynamics packages."

"Apart from that, nobody knows exactly what to expect, because no team has tested here and has insights to go by. So everything is completely different now except our fighting spirit, which has been refreshed perfectly. We're ready to go and want to do well in Canada. And I see no reason whatsoever why we shouldn't."

Like many other drivers, Schumacher is a fan of the Canadian event at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. "There's no doubt about it, this city lives and breathes for Formula One, so it's always really great for all of us to come to Montreal. There will surely be a great vibe, as there is every year. This is one of the races that I particularly like - that's also because of this country, the city and the people. They always make you feel absolutely welcome."

Some people believe that it's impossible for Alonso to lose the title this season -- a rather sweeping statement with 10 races still to come -- but Schumacher, naturally, isn't about to give up. "Fights and challenges like this are part of my nature," he remarked. "Sure, you can't win all the time, but there's nothing better than being competitive like this. That's purely inspirational."

Alonso himself is not complacent enough to think that Renault can now start to control the gap to its rivals. "Definitely not," stated the Spaniard. "The season is not even at the halfway stage yet, and in Ferrari, we have very strong competition. Last year, we were fighting against teams who had reliability problems -- but that won't happen with Ferrari. They will be there at every race, and very strong in Canada as well."