Anonymous Schumacher slots in for big race

MICHAEL Schumacher may be within sight of an historic sixth World Championship but in North America he is still just another face in the crowd.

The 34-year-old German revealed yesterday how he prepared for Sunday’s US Grand Prix at Indianapolis by wandering largely unrecognised among the slot machines of Las Vegas.

Schumacher said: “I moved very freely around. There were a few European guys hanging around on holiday who knew me.

“But usually I am not getting recognised by Americans, not even coming here and checking into the hotel which I thought was very good.

The odds are strongly on Schumacher claiming a record sixth drivers’ crown and he could do so in Sunday’s penultimate race of the campaign if he wins and his two remaining rivals fail to pick up significant points.

The Ferrari driver leads the Williams-BMW of Juan Pablo Montoya by three points with McLaren’s Kimi Raikkonen just four points further adrift.

Such has been the close competition Schumacher insists he is not even thinking about what more he could achieve in his astonishing career if he finally breaks the record of five titles he shares with 1950s legend Juan Manuel Fangio.

“I am still thinking about a sixth championship, that’s where my focus is because it will be a difficult thing to achieve,” added Schumacher, who has won the title for the past three years.

“When I won the championship for Ferrari in 2000 that was the main thing for me and ever since then everything else has been a pleasure,” he said.

Schumacher could clinch the championship even if he finishes second on Sunday but the battle is more likely to go down to the last race in Japan two weeks on October 12.

But Schumacher has dismissed the belief that he will have the advantage at Suzuka which is Ferrari’s tyre suppliers Bridgestone’s home track.

“This year it is not clear what circuits will suit teams”, added Schumacher, who also has a superior record on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway than his rivals with one victory and two seconds.

“A team could be behind here but find that little improvement and be in front for the next race. That is what has made it so tight this year,” he said.

Former world champion Jacques Villeneuve insists he will not beg his BAR team to keep him on next season. Villeneuve is battling to save his Formula One future having said he has had no offers of a drive for 2004 yet.

He said: “People are making it sound as if I’m begging to stay with the team.

“Right now the team is looking to see if I am the right driver for them, but I have to look to see if it is the right thing for me.

“Right now there is nothing exciting to say but there are still two races to go, that’s all I know,” he said.

The Canadian, who won the world title with Williams in 1997, believes BAR’s engine suppliers Honda are pushing to have Japan’s Takuma Sato partner Jenson Button next season.