Watch out for me at Indianapolis - Schumi

At the halfway stage of the 2006 season, Bridgestone-shod Michael Schumacher lies second in the World Championship standings, 25 points adrift of Fernando Alonso. The gap between the title protagonists grew by two points after Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix, but Schumacher remains upbeat about his chances for the remainder of the season.

“My second place in Montreal kept the loss to Fernando to a minimum,” says Schumacher. “Starting the second half of the championship 25 points behind him is anything but ideal, but it’s not hopeless and we will not give up. Our strategy for the next few races is to attack because anything is still possible.”

With 10 points awarded for a win, the gap between Schumacher and Alonso equates to two wins and a fourth place. For the record, Alonso led Kimi Raikkonen by 22 points at a similar stage last year.

“The points system doesn’t help us,” says Schumacher, “but I’d be saying the opposite if I were in Fernando’s position. It’s great to be in the title hunt because it provides a great motivation for everyone in the team. People seem to have forgotten where we were last year; maybe we should take it as a compliment that they’ve forgotten so easily.”

Schumacher has a good record at Indianapolis, the next race on the calendar. He’s won four of the six races staged on the 4.192-kilometre track and hopes to continue that winning streak this weekend.

“We need to start winning again,” says Michael. “I like the Indianapolis track, so we’ll see what happens. Everyone in the team and at Bridgestone will be pushing to the maximum.”