Mugello, Oct 08: Ferrari officials determined to succeed in Suzuka. Ferrari's Michael Schumacher needs just one point from Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix to overtake the late Juan Manuel Fangio in the Formula One record books and secure a record sixth championship. McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen is the only driver who can stop him but the Finn is nine points behind and needs to win while the German fails to score. Schumacher is taking nothing for granted, even if history suggests the Ferrari driver's sixth title is a foregone conclusion after he won the most recent, in Indianapolis, last month. Only Raikkonen can stop him now and even then the matter is out of the Finn's hands. Raikkonen's only chance is to win and hope that Schumacher, five times triumphant at Suzuka including in all of the last three years, somehow fails to score. But it has been five years since Schumacher drew a blank in Japan. None of his current rivals has won at the southern circuit nor beaten Schumacher in any race that the German has finished there. Ferrari's official website had Schumacher listed as a six-times champion already last month.


At the team's Mugello test track in Italy, officials were concentrating on Suzuka. Ferrari racing boss Jean Todt said: "I don't like to predict things. I've been in this business for so many years that sometimes what you predict doesn't happen and what you don't predict happens. So we just need to focus, to be as good as we can, to try to anticipate as many details as are possible to be anticipated and there is no reason why we will not do well. There's no secret, if we do a good job we should get a good result."


Formula one team manager Stefano Domenicali said: "Indianapolis was crucial for the drivers' championships and the constructors' championship, but it was not enough. Now we're going to Japan and we have to respect our targets. We have to win the drivers' championship and the constructors' championship and it's not finished.


"We know the race is long and it's difficult, you know, reliability, possible accident, weather conditions so we are very, very concentrated, keep our feet on the ground, we will fight to the end, up to the chequered flag."


Bureau Report