Michael Schumacher’s scandalous Monaco weekend has not delivered a knock out blow to his world championship hopes, the German driver said on Sunday.
Shortly after driving from the pit lane to fifth place in the Principality, the 37-year-old denied that Fernando Alonso is now an unbeatable contender for the 2006 drivers’ crown.
”There are still many races — anyone can see that (Alonso) hasn’t won it yet and that anything can still happen.
”Anyone who knows me, and anyone who saw today’s race, knows that I do not give up,” Schumacher said.
”If I thought that everything was over then I would be sitting at home doing something else!”
Schumacher, however, admitted that he is still feeling disappointed and ‘shocked’ about the stewards’ penalty, that he said was too harsh.
”I am accustomed to sometimes being criticised,” he insisted, ”but there are people who see it my way too.
”They are the people who are important to me.
”I have a clear conscience.”
Schumacher was critical of fellow drivers who are rumoured to want to expel the seven time world champion as a director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association.
”Some of them are too cowardly to come to talk to me so they go and talk to the press. That’s life. You can’t always have just friends.
”But I also feel that many people understand me and support me.”
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