An enthralling atmosphere with red flags and caps and jubilant chanting formed the backdrop to the Michael Schumacher Fan Day at the Nurburgring yesterday. 'I have been involved in racing for such a long time now, but moments like these are always special,' said Michael this morning. 'Yesterday was a great success. I was surprised at the large number of fans who turned up and I must say, I had a great time, especially when I was at the wheel of the various Ferraris and karts to put on a bit of a show and entertain everyone. I hope they enjoyed it as much as I did.'

Michael returned home yesterday evening and tomorrow he is attending the Frankfurt Motor Show, where he will be on the Ferrari-Maserati Group and Fiat Group stands. The following day, Michael will be back in Italy, in Bergamo, this time for a charity football match with the Nazionale Piloti team, which is now something of a pre Italian Grand Prix tradition. His first official engagement of the race weekend will be the FIA press conference at three in the afternoon on Thursday.

'Yesterday at the Nurburgring I had a lot of support from the fans and this gives me an additional boost. It did me good and will be a help. Now we start the final sprint and each race will become ever more important. Given how tight the fight is this year, even elements like this will play their part,' continued the world champion.

The atmosphere is positive in the Ferrari camp following the recent Monza test session. 'Yesterday at the Nurburgring, I said that it seemed to me that we had returned to our usual standard and the three and a half days of track time were very worthwhile. The final part of the season will be a challenge and I have nothing against that. With the experience we have gathered and the consecutive victories over the past few years, we can work calmly and in a concentrated fashion. We have developed a new aerodynamic package for this Sunday’s race and we have also gathered important data relating to other elements of the package. There is no doubt that Monza will be a difficult race, but I reckon we have a realistic chance of winning. Come what may, we will do all we can to turn the championship around.'