Michael Schumacher met the world’s media at the Ferrari motorhome in the Hungaroring ring paddock and it was obvious that the longer than usual break had not dented his appetite for racing.

'I like to fight like this,' answered the German when asked for his views on the fact that more than two drivers are still in with a chance of taking the Drivers’s title. 'It is a very good situation and I have no problem with it. It can be very interesting with the possibility of Kimi or Juan Pablo taking points off one another, which is good for me, as I am leading.' Asked about the fact that his brother will no longer have to drop ten grid positions in this race, following the decision of the FIA Court of Appeal, Michael thought it was good on two counts: 'firstly, I think the original penalty was too harsh and secondly, I would not want to profit on the track from someone being penalised.'

As for the rest of the season, Schumacher admitted he still regards himself as favourite to take yet another championship. 'We now have time to test for the last three races and I have confidence in the team that we can turn the situation to our favour and that the good times will be back for us,' he said. 'It is possible that we might have to settle for second place in a couple of the coming races, as it is true that Williams has a lot of momentum at the moment. But our team has excellent development skills and great teamwork.'

Schumacher also admitted that the new points distribution system means that winning races is less important than before in terms of the championship. Asked if he would modify his driving tactics because of this system, the five times world champion laughed, before joking, 'just drive fast and don’t crash!' Now the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro driver is keen for Friday to arrive and his first chance to try the “new” Hungaroring. 'I am interested to see the changes and not just the new parts of the track. I understand that part of it has also been resurfaced, so we must see what effect that has. I enjoy driving here as it is a technically demanding circuit.'

A final questions about the departure of Canada from next year’s F1 calendar: 'Looking at my record there, I will be sad, even though I don’t like the circuit so much from a driving point of view. But the good side is that this race is being replaced by the Belgian GP at Spa and that really is my favourite circuit.'