Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa in Sao Paulo on Thursday. (AFP)

Sao Paulo: The lump in the throat, the emotional farewells can wait as far as Michael Schumacher is concerned.

The Ferrari great says he is treating the last race of his record-breaking Formula One career in Brazil this weekend as “business as usual”.

Schumacher bows out at Interlagos on Sunday with a real chance of a 92nd career victory and, if he does that and Renault’s Fernando Alonso fails to score, an unprecedented eighth title.

“At the moment I’m not thinking so much about it,” the 37-year-old told a news conference, when asked about his emotions on the eve of his last race.

“Occasionally it comes up and you feel a bit strange about it but in general I’m pretty relaxed,” he added. “It’s pretty much business as usual so far. So we can deal with this race as a normal one.”

He posed for photographers, giving a thumbs-up with Brazilian teammate Felipe Massa, and smiled at the occasional off-beat question — such as how he would feel if he woke up transformed into former teammate Rubens Barrichello.

The German rubbed his eyes at that suggestion, but was otherwise the same old Schumacher.

Alonso is 10 points clear, with both men having seven wins each this season after the German’s engine blew while he was leading at the last race in Japan. Renault are nine ahead of Ferrari. “I am not coming here this weekend to think too much about my own title,” said Schumacher.

“I am coming here for the constructors’ title. I have expressed after the Suzuka race that the title fight for the drivers’ is finished.

“I don’t want to build up my hopes on somebody retiring... I am just here to do a good race and try to win.”

What he does after that is anyone’s guess.

(Reuters)