Schu: Title to go to the wire

Michael Schumacher believes his world championship battle with Fernando Alonso will go down to the wire with a last-race decider in Brazil.

The Ferrari driver trails Renault rival Alonso by 12 points with four races and 40 points remaining before this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix.

But he is confident he can whittle that down to single figures before the season finale at Interlagos.

Schumacher said: “The gap is a worry to some degree but not too much because there are still four races to go.

“I think it will go until the last race, absolutely. For sure both sides will improve, it just depends on how quickly.”

The 37-year-old could be racing at Monza for the last time this weekend, with a decision pending on Sunday as to whether he will retire.

As well as being one of Ferrari’s home races, Monza has been kind to the former world champions in recent years and Schumacher claims Sunday’s race will play a major part in deciding the championship.

“I obviously look forward to this grand prix as it is a crucial grand prix for us,” he said. “We had a very good test, we had three good days but we also saw the competition is very tight.

“It is down to who gets the car sorted out for the conditions. If we can do that then we have a great opportunity and a great chance. It’s going to be tight but I am looking forward to it.”

Alonso is also optimistic for this weekend but admitted Ferrari start as favourites on home turf.

“I am quite optimistic,” he said. “The test went very well for us, we had some positive results. We should be optimistic, but we cannot forget this race is quite good for Ferrari and for the characteristics of their car.

“We cannot forget also that Monza is the home grand prix for Ferrari and it is always difficult to beat them here. I think we can do a good race anyway and try to make it difficult for them.”

While Schumacher’s future has been the talk of the Monza paddock, the man himself is staying tight-lipped.

The 37-year-old’s future will be revealed after Sunday’s race when Ferrari reveal their 2007 line-up and Schumacher refused to take questions on the subject.

“It is very obvious what we have communicated for many months,” he said. “We will make a statement in Monza on Sunday. There is no point in asking any questions or getting into it.

“We don’t do anything that causes extra disturbance – the focus for us is still to race. I think it is more of a distraction for other people.”