Schumacher not so optimistic

Although Michael Schumacher will fight as hard as ever for the rest of the season, the reigning champion admitted he is not too optimistic after his troubles at Hockenheim. With no testing until after the next race at Hungary in three weeks, Schumacher thinks Ferrari will face the same problems it faced in Germany.

"At this point, I'm not very optimistic," he said. "We are always hopeful but we have to be realistic. We will most likely have the same problems in Hungary that we have now but there are some courses further down the schedule that are better suited to us."

Schumacher spent much of the German Grand Prix fighting with the Renaults while Williams' Juan Pablo Montoya took his second victory of the season. The Colombian is now only six points behind Schumacher in the Driver's standings and Williams just two behind Ferrari.

"I have said all along that we have more to be afraid about Williams than anyone else," Michael commented. "That was true at Hockenheim. But on the other hand I'm still ahead and will fight for every point."

Schumacher was looking likely for second at Hockenheim until a tyre failure late in the race relegated him to seventh. "I looked in the rear-view mirror to see if anything else was damaged and hoped to be able to finish the race," he explained. "The only thing you can do in a situation like that is stay calm and reasoned. That's racing. Things like that happen."

Bridgestone is investigating the tyre problem and so far it says a puncture from debris was the most likely explanation, as Schumacher had a slight off track excursion while fighting with Jarno Trulli. "We have been examining his tyre and initial indications do clearly point towards that conclusion," said technical manager Hisao Suganuma.

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