We have more freedom now, says Schumacher

Barcelona: The champions remain defiant, but there was no ignoring a sensation that Formula One’s jackals were circling overhead after Sunday’s Spanish GP.

Defending drivers’ world champion Michael Schumacher and his Ferrari team chief Jean Todt roared back and bristled with self-belief, but after failing to take a point on another near-disastrous afternoon, the team of the prancing stallion had lost much of its vim.

Even Schumacher admitted as much after he had been forced to retire after suffering two tyre punctures while he was heading towards a possible third place.

On if he could still fight to hang on to his crown, a title held by nobody else since 1999, the 36-year-old German admitted it was slipping away.

?No question,? he said.

?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 the next race in Monaco. We are becoming more free because we don’t have anything to lose. We can do more things.?

Todt, who saw Schumacher experience defeat at Barcelona for the first time since his old rival Mika Hakkinen won the third of his three successive triumphs in 2000, was just as defiant.

?We knew this would be a difficult race, but it turned out to be tougher than expected.

?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.

Renault lead the constructors’ championship with 58 points ahead of Toyota on 40, McLaren are third on 37 and Williams fourth on 21.

Ferrari lie a distant fifth with 18 points, only four more than Red Bull.

In the drivers’ championship, Alonso leads with 44, Italian Jarno Trulli is second with 26 and Raikkonen third on 17. Schumacher, with 10 points, lies seventh and his teammate Brazilian Rubens Barrichello 11th with eight.

But Schumacher is nothing if not a fighter. ?I think that third position was realistic,? he said.

Meanwhile, in another development, five of the six manufacturers in Formula One have established a new grouping to represent their interests in the battle for control of the billion dollar sport, adds another report from London.

BMW, DaimlerChrysler, Honda, Renault and Toyota said in a statement Monday that the new manufacturers association had been formally established at a meeting in London on Sunday.

The new body is likely to replace the GPWC (Grand Prix World Championship) company as the main representative body of the manufacturers in their battle for more transparency in the organisation and commercial dealings of Formula One.

(REUTERS)