Brawn says Schumacher can win again

Ross Brawn has given an interview to La Gazzetta dello Sport today, from his holiday home in Forte dei Marmi, on the West coast of Italy.

He says that he would put money on Jenson Button to win the drivers' title and Michael Schumacher to win a race before the season's end and discusses his team's recent problems, which have lost them ground in the title fight.

Brawn was the architect of all of Schumacher's seven world titles, one of the most unique and successful partnerships in F1 history.

"Michael has simply responded to the passion and the bond of loyalty he has for Ferrari," says Brawn. "A passion I continue to feel myself. There is an important aspect to bear in mind; his comeback is only for a limited amount of time. We can imagine that Michael is coming back with his usual determination and seriousness, but he also wants to enjoy himself. I can't wait to see him at work."

"I'm convinced he will [be strong], I still remember the great race he did in Brazil in 2006. Of course it's obvious that he has to familiarise himself with the car, but I'm sure that if he doesn't win one of the remaining races of the season it will not be his fault, but because Ferrari is not in a winning position."

As to his own team's chances, Brawn highlights the fact that the team has recently lost the ability to get the tyres working and it's chances of winning the title rest on fixing the problem,

"At the start of the season we were able to make the most of the tyres. Unexpectedly we have had problems. It's certainly linked to some modification which we introduced during the season, and so we are analysing carefully every step we've made to understand what has caused this problem. This is a challenge with this year's rules in the absence of any testing."