Schumi looking forward to next year - 14th August 19:15pm GMT

Michael Schumacher offered a reassuring pledge to the Italian camp when he told them: I'm still the main man.

Italy's Moto GP world champion Valentino Rossi tested the Ferrari for two days this month and his adoring public are clamouring for him to get a chance on the four wheels of their beloved red car.

Yet a defiant Schumacher insists that, at the age of 36, he is still more than a match for today's young guns and is determined to spearhead the team's bid for another title.

"I am looking forward to fighting for more wins," said the German. "The team is already concentrating its work on next year's car and I hope to be able to compete for the championship again.

"This season I do not have the weapons to fight for the championship. It is mathematically possible to win it, but realistically we have to accept it is not going to happen.

"I still have the hunger and if we make the improvements we need, then I have no doubt we are capable of winning another championship."

Schumacher is third in this year's championship, 32 points behind Renault's Fernando Alonso, and added: "I'm not even thinking about retirement. I still enjoy racing and as long as I am competitive I see no reason why I should not continue."