After a week of intensive testing at the Monza circuit, Michael Schumacher is now ready to tackle the Italian Grand Prix at the very same track. 'After almost four days of testing at this circuit, I am confident about this weekend’s race. Last week’s testing was very promising and I think I can fight for the win. The layout is very similar to Montreal, where we won and also the F2003-GA goes very well on high speed circuits. Obviously, we cannot promise anything and given the competitiveness of our rivals the race is bound to be very close. But I can say that we will do our utmost so that our fans can celebrate with us.

'Obviously, this is a special event for us. The Monza circuit represents the temple of Italian motor sport and all of us consider the Italian Grand Prix to be a tough challenge,' explained the German driver. 'We are determined to perform really well, especially for the tifosi, even though, unlike the past couple of years, we will not be able to celebrate winning the title with them. But this time, we need their support, just as we did in 2000, when we were in a similar situation as regards the championship. And we all remember how that turned out…'