The Hindu : Sport / Racing : Motor : Schumacher says his situation has worsened

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Friday, Jul 22, 2005

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Sport - Racing : Motor

Schumacher says his situation has worsened

HOCKENHEIM (Germany): Michael Schumacher can look forward to noisy support from his loyal home fans at this weekend's German Grand Prix — and not much else.

A victory seems out of reach for the seven-time Formula One champion and his underachieving Ferrari team.

``Regardless of the circumstances, a race in Germany is always special,'' Schumacher said on his Web page this week.

``The Grand Prix of Germany, that always brings a bit of extra motivation. You just look forward to this race a little more,'' Schumacher said. ``There's always a fantastic atmosphere there.''

After completely dominating last season, Schumacher finds himself trailing Renault's Fernando Alonso by 34 points after 11 of 19 races.

Alonso has 77 points after five wins this season, McLaren-Mercedes driver Kimi Raikkonen has 51, and Schumacher has 43.

Schumacher's only win came at the troubled United States Grand Prix, when seven of the 10 teams pulled out because of tire problems.

``We're not trying to hide the fact that we're a little bit on the hunt for our performance right now,'' Schumacher said.

``But another thing we're not hiding, either, is our team's dedication and fighting spirit.

``Contrary to many other people's opinions, we have in no means written ourselves off, even though we have to admit that the situation has worsened recently, rather than improved. But that doesn't mean that it can't be improved again, and that's exactly what we're working on.

``So I'm hoping we'll be able to show our fans a good fight. Our competitors will surely be strong, but we'll definitely put in our best. And then we'll have to see how well we can do,'' said Schumacher, who was testing up until Wednesday. AP

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