Schumacher working hard

It\'s nice to see that Schumacher has the motivation to break the habit of the past seven years and actually get some testing in the bag during December.

Of course, with key sponsor Vodafone going, Ferrari isn\'t necessarily going to be a competitive force in 2007, even if they are in 2006. Reportedly, Fiat only put 10 million dollars into the team - the rest is funded by sponsorship, so the $50 million loss of Vodafone sponsorship is going to hurt, although it looks like Marlboro has signed up for several years to come.

What are Schumacher\'s motives in getting back into testing early? I wonder if he\'s trying to protect his image to secure a decent drive in 2007? After all, Ross Brawn and Jean Todt are probably going from Ferrari at the end of 2006, so if Schumacher is ever going to go to another team, 2007 will be that time.