Schumi enjoyed the playoffs - 10th July 17:52pm GMT

Football and the World Cup in Germany dominated Michael's weekend. He is known for his love of football and was at the stadium to watch Germany in the third place play off last Saturday in Stuttgart. He was there cheering on his team and lapping up the special atmosphere.

"It was wonderful. The atmosphere was great. Corinna and I enjoyed ourselves very much", he smiled. "Perhaps I enjoyed it so much because I am German and because the national team was playing. Comparing what I saw at the game to what I watched yesterday on television, it was almost as though the final was on Saturday!".

The fact that Italy were crowned world champions yesterday was the icing on the cake for the racing star. He was at home with his family for the match. "I was pleased for the team but, most of all, for our squad. It was a hard game that, in my opinion, had a positive outcome. In a way, you could say that on Saturday my German side won and yesterday my Italian half triumphed. It was a fitting end to a good overall performance in what is, for me, a special tournament".

The seven time world champion conducted a series of tests at Jerez before immersing himself in football for the weekend. "Testing went well. We are moving in the right direction. As I have already said, we want to do what we can to close the gap. Indianapolis was an extrememly exciting race but the result should not be overplayed. The gap was too big and the standings did not accurately reflect the true balance of power. In any case, I will enjoy this moment as we have come through some very tough weekends. I think that the race in France could be another classic. We have often seen how details can affect the outcome of a race and this could be true of Magny Cours. We will not know much until everyone takes to the track on Friday".

The comeback is on for this second half of the season. "From now on, we will fight in the real sense of the word and each race will be an opportunity for us to come back. Nineteen points can be bridged and I am convinced of this".

We want to win and will battle to the end. There is no reason to give up".