Ferrari praying for rain

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Even though this year's Belgian GP takes place well into September, it is incredibly hot in the Ardennes, with temperatures hitting the 30° mark. However, the forecast is for wetter, colder more typical Spa weather to arrive soon. Barrichello, Schumacher and everyone at Ferrari is praying for rain.

Rubens Barrichello “That would make the race more open. At the moment we have to be somewhat conservative on the tyre front, so our only real hope of doing better than in Monza last weekend, rests with how our car-tyre package will suit this track. It is this that will decide our performance, but I do not think it will be enough for us to do really well. I tell you, if we won here on Sunday there would be a bigger party than when we celebrated winning the championship here!”

While the Ferrari driver is realistic about his chances this weekend, the attraction of this great circuit is still as strong as ever.
"Spa is still a great challenge. It comes not so much from the individual corners, but from the fact it is very long and so you cannot get the set-up right for the entire lap and having to push all the time, even when the car is not perfect, is what makes this place special.

Rubens Barrichello also has his opinion about Fernando Alonso.
“He would make a charismatic champion in what has been a good championship year, because the man most likely to win is not in the best car and that has kept the championship alive.”

Spa-Francorchamps is traditionally the final opportunity for the Schumi fans to see their here before the F1 circus moves outside Europe. But this year, the organisers in Belgium are not expecting such a big crowd because, Schumi and Ferrari aren't doing well this season.

Michael Schumacher “Some races have been packed out, but others like Monza last week were not crowded. It is difficult to know what makes the people come or not, but it would be a shame if there was a small crowd here. Of course, the fact that Ferrari has not had a good season has had an effect in Germany and Italy.”

For the fans who are at Spa-Francorchamps for the weekend, Schumi isn't promising any miracles.
“Just a few days after Monza, I cannot say I expect to see much improvement but I hope that there will be before the end of the season, because the important thing and the reason we keep pushing is to put ourselves in the best possible position to be competitive again for next season It will be tough, but we know what it takes, because we still have the same team of people who lost and had to push hard in 1997 and ’98 before becoming very strong and winning.”

When Schumi is asked if rain would help the Ferrari team, the German says: "I am praying for it!"