It would of ended sooner or later - Schumi - 5th September 21:41pm GMT

When Michael left Monza on Sunday night he was still, on paper, world champion. However, it is clear that his title is now lost. He will not be able to defend his crown in the last four races. This fact seems to disturb his rivals more that it does Michael himself. “This has been a topic of discussion for a while”, declared Michael after the race. “It is not a problem. It is not surprising that it has happened. What is more surprising is that so much time has gone by before it has come to pass. I would never have believed it would have been possible to win five straight titles but I knew from the beginning that the run would have ended sooner or later. At the moment, this is less important than the need to get back to our best. This, for me, was the decisive factor last weekend as our performance was very different from that which I would have liked to have put on for our fans”.

It has been ten years since Ferrari failed to score points at Monza. This caused the men in red, and Michael himself, some sadness. They have certainly enjoyed better times. “It was not the outcome we were looking for. We have to work even harder to bridge the gap before the end of the season. We would like to score a win before the championship ends”. Perhaps the GP at Spa next weekend may be the occasion? Schumacher keeps his feet on the ground: “I don’t think that it will be possible to reverse the trend in such a short time. We are quite a long way off the pace at the moment. This does not mean we will not be trying our best though. No-one should be writing us off just yet. I am sure we will come back”.