With Monaco behind him though, Schumacher will need to refocus on the job in hand and that is to beat
Fernando Alonso in a straight fight. Although Schumacher got the better of him at Imola and the Nurburgring, Alonso’s lights-to-flag win in Barcelona shows that the German is not quite able to have things his own way.
However, after the steadfast denials of Monaco, Ferrari are more determined than ever to take the fight to both Alonso and
Renault, with Schumacher looking to close that gap down to his rival again.
"We have to try to do well [this weekend] considering the current situation in the world championship," said Schumacher.
"It is obvious that we have to close the gap in the standings and we are determined to do it from the next grand prix on. Last week's test session went well and we have every reason to be optimistic. Let there be no doubts: our aim in going to England is to win!"
The one factor that may prove the team’s undoing in terms of taking the fight to Renault as an overall package is
Felipe Massa. Although the Brazilian has shown flashes of speed this year, his crash in qualifying and the subsequent loitering during the race at Monaco was a disappointment for
Ferrari.
Nonetheless, Massa has a fine record at
Silverstone, finishing in the top ten on the three occasions he has raced there, although he hasn’t managed a points paying position yet. Still, he should be in a position to change that this time around though.
Toyota – Ralf Schumacher (#7), Jarno Trulli (#8):
Jarno Trulli almost gave Toyota’s new TF106B car an excellent debut when he was all set to finish the Monaco Grand Prix in third place. However, reliability problems got the better of the Italian and although his retirement meant Ralf Schumacher claimed a consolation point, it was a bitterly disappointing end to the weekend.
However, while he was distraught not to get his first points of the year on the board, Trulli was encouraged by the car’s pace, even if he admits that Monaco is not an ideal indication of the car‘s potential.
