Schumacher sees title chances fade

Michael Schumacher admits he can see his world championship crown slipping away after falling further off the title pace in the Spanish Grand Prix at Barcelona today.

The Ferrari driver was heading for third place when two separate Bridgestone tyre failures put him out of the race.

Fernando Alonso took second place to extend his overall lead in the title race and leave Schumacher trailing by 34 points with 14 races remaining.

Seven-time world champion Schumacher, who has won the last five titles, must rely on other factors to keep his crown, as even winning every race until the end of the season does not guarantee he would overhaul Alonso.

Schumacher remains defiant but concedes his task is getting harder by the race.

He said: “No question it is moving more and more away. But it is not that far away that we have got to give it up, we will keep on working and keep on fighting. It is not over.

“I don’t need very long to find new motivation and new freshness. We will work and work before Monaco.

“We are becoming more free because we don’t have anything to lose. We can do more things.”

Schumacher believes he was on course for third place after another clever strategy saw him move from eighth to third in the first round of pit stops.

“I think that third position was realistic,” he added.

“I would have been able to stay out quite a bit longer than Alonso but I don’t think it would have been enough to make up those 11 seconds. But of course I would have tried.

“It is clear we are disappointed because in the race finally we were going okay. It would have been six points, six important points.”

The 36-year-old’s retirement saw him slip behind Kimi Raikkonen in the drivers’ standings after the Finn won his first race of the season to muscle in on the title battle.

Schumacher was at a loss to explain why both his left rear and left front tyres suddenly deflated within two laps of each other, forcing him to pull into the pits and retire.

He said: “I had some problems on the lap before the first problem and I felt the car getting unbalanced.

“At first I was lucky because it was just two laps before going into the pits so I could go in and have the tyre changed but the next lap the same thing happened.

“I don’t know exactly why it happened because I was not aware of picking up debris on the track but maybe I did.

“The other tyres were looking quite good in terms of tyre wear. Both times it was the left tyre which is very unusual and why I would not think it was a tyre problem.”

Ferrari boss Jean Todt has vowed to rally around Schumacher’s cause and deliver an improved car for the remainder of the season.

The Frenchman said: “We have to accept that in this first part of the season our opponents are stronger than us.

“But we will not get discouraged and we will absolutely not give up. We will tackle the rest of the championship with the same will and determination that has characterised our approach for so many years.”