Michael Schumacher's dream of retiring from Formula One with an eighth championship is nearly over after the German had to retire from the Japanese Grand Prix with an engine failure.
Renault's world champion Fernando Alonso won the race and now has a 10-point advantage going into the season-ender in Brazil on October 22. Schumacher can only beat him now if he wins at Interlagos and Alonso suffers a similar nightmare.
However, Schumacher himself has dismissed any chances of that happening in Brazil.
"There aren't any more chances left. I've tried everything this year, we all tried everything we could. It wasn't to be. It will be more or less a walk in the park for him [Alonso] now and go easy on everything," he said after the race in Suzuka.
However, Ferrari have not given up hope and said they will continue to fight for the Formula One title down to the last metre of track in Brazil.
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