Schumacher focuses on Monza mission

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER will ignore the growing speculation about his future when he tries to revive his championship chances in this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix.

Ferrari will announce their 2007 driver line-up immediately after Sunday’s race at Monza, a move which should confirm once and for all whether Schumacher intends to retire.

The issue has dominated the weeks up to the announcement but Schumacher himself is steering clear of that talk.

“I understand that the announcement arouses some interest,” said the 37-year-old last night.

“We have already made known that the declaration will be made after the race as we want to focus on what is an important date.

“I can only add that I will not discuss the subject until Sunday.”

Instead, Schumacher is focusing on his battle with Fernando Alonso.

A disappointing result in Turkey two weeks ago left Schumacher trailing by 12 points with four races to go, but he still retains hope of an eighth title.

He added: “It is not impossible. Our tactic can only be attack. We have to make up ground, put the pressure on and go for it.

“It is not the first time that we find ourselves in this situation and our experience should help us out. I think we still have a good chance of winning the title.”

In the meantime, Heikki Kovalainen will race alongside Giancarlo Fisichella at the Renault team next season, the French squad confirmed yesterday.

The confirmation puts an end to speculation over the second Renault seat following the exit of world champion Fernando Alonso to the McLaren team at the end of the year.

“I have been a member of the Renault driver development programme since 2002, when I had the distant ambition of one day becoming an F1 driver,” said Kovalainen. “It is a fantastic feeling to have finally achieved that.”

“Everybody at Renault is very optimistic about our driver line-up for 2007 and beyond,” said Renault team boss Flavio Briatore, who also announced he will be staying with the team at least until 2008.

“We have taken the conscious decision to build for the future, without compromising the stability of the team,” said Briatore. “Giancarlo is a proven force in Formula One and Heikki is already fully integrated into the team. After seeing performances in testing this season, we have very high hopes for him.”

Briatore will stay on as Renault boss for another two years after agreeing a new deal. The flamboyant Italian’s contract with Renault runs out at the end of this year and was weighing up whether to continue in F1. After getting guarantees of continuity from key technical figures, plus full commitment from Renault president Carlos Ghosn, Briatore has elected to stay on.