Fingers crossed for Germany - Schumi

Michael Schumacher followed his team-mate's appearance at the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro motorhome encounter with the media this afternoon and he was in confident mood about the coming weekend. "We had a great test in Barcelona," he maintained.

"So I am really looking forward to this race. We found out what caused the difficulties we had when we raced there and found solutions for those problems. Renault was also strong at the test, but there is no reason why we cannot fight for the win here. In fact, we can fight for the win at every race and we must try and get more than just a two point advantage over our rivals. It will happen at some stage this year. We are also looking good on the tyre front, as I feel that Bridgestone has made a good step forward. The fact we have not tested here this year? It does not matter and although it is much hotter than usual here at the moment, we have taken that into account in our preparations."

The Grand Prix Drivers Association is due to have one of its regular meetings tomorrow (Friday) and the F1 rumour mill has suggested that Michael's qualifying incident in Monaco will be up for discussion. There were even strange suggestions that "Michael must apologise." "Some people might see this as an opportunity to create something and do things," said Michael diplomatically. "As for apologising, I have already told everyone on Sunday in Monaco that I apologise for the mess the incident caused and I apologised if I had spoilt anyone's lap. Talking about it now changes nothing and I prefer to look forward to this weekend."

And inevitably, onto the World Cup: "Of course I will be keeping my fingers crossed for Germany," said Michael. "We have a strong team and it is special to have the championships held in one's own country. I am looking forward to watching the opening game tomorrow."