Ferrari is pulling out all stops to help Michael Schumacher win a record sixth FIA Formula One World Drivers Championship this year.

Forget for a moment the latest controversy over the legality of the front tires used by Ferrari's rivals Williams BMW and West McLaren Mercedes and Mild Seven Renault. The argument over a fraction of an inch difference in tire width is not the issue here. The reality is that the championship will be decided by a number of factors.

The reality is that Ferrari was soundly thrashed in the recent Hungarian Grand Prix. Michael Schumacher finished a distant eighth and was lapped. His teammate Rubens Barrichello crashed because of a rear suspension failure.

With three races to go in this year's Formula One World Championship, Schumacher now has 72 points, just one more that Juan Pablo Montoya (71) and Kimi Raikkonen (70). Schumacher has not won since the Canadian Grand Prix. You have to go back to 2000 to find the last time he went winless for five races.

Ferrari now trails Williams BMW in the Constructors Championship as well.

The mood in the Ferrari camp, however, is not one of dejection but one of determination.

"It is too early to say that the season is over," said Ferrari's F1 team boss Jean Todt. "We will fight, and we still have a good chance to succeed."

France's Todt has been at the helm of the Ferrari Formula One team for 10 years now. A former rally navigator, he won World Rally Championship events as a co-driver, and he helped Talbot win the World Rally Manufacturers title in 1981. After retiring, he ran Peugeot's competition department from 1982 until 1992 during which Peugeots won a variety of rallies, off road races and sports car races as well as the Le Mans 24 Hours.

When Todt joined Ferrari the team had last won the Drivers Championship with Jody Scheckter in 1979 and the Constructors Championship in 1983. Ferrari won only two Grands Prix from 1991 through 1995.

	Michael Schumacher has four wins this season.

Todt joined Ferrari in July 1993 and started to put together what has become known as the "dream team" consisting of Todt, the managing director of the racing department, technical director Ross Brawn, engine director Paolo Martinelli, chief designer Rory Byrne, head of engine design Gilles Simon, and of course, Michael Schumacher. The entire dream team, incidentally, is contracted through 2006.

Schumacher has won 49 grands prix for Ferrari, three Drivers Championships and helped the team win the Constructors Championship for the past four consecutive years.

Todt says you need to put Ferrari's lack of performance in recent races into perspective.

"On one side if we look at the past four years, it's been a fantastic achievement," he said. "But if you take the two last races it is a terrible disappointment. So you have to judge the whole thing. Michael has not scored a lot of points in the last four or five races, nevertheless he is still leading the Drivers Championship by one point. So it is unpleasant, but if you take all 13 races (this season) together it is not so bad. But we have lost the lead in the Manufacturers Championship."

"If you go back to Silverstone (where Barrichello won the British Grand Prix) there was a big domination of Ferrari," Todt said. "So it can happen. I don't say that it will happen but it can happen."

There's no doubt that Michelin has had the upper hand over Bridgestone in recent races. But Todt steadfastly refuses to single out Bridgestone for Ferrari's lack of wins.

"We shouldn't have a short memory," Todt said. "Last year we were dominant, and a lot of that stemmed from the tires. At the moment together with Bridgestone we have been struggling at certain circuits in certain conditions. It is unfair to give all credit to one tire company or to say that because of another tire company we don't do well. We won so many races thanks to Bridgestone, so you have to see the whole picture."

So what is the weakest point at Ferrari at the moment?

"Not quick enough," Todt said.

	“	On one side if we look at the past four years, it's been a fantastic achievement. But if you take the two last races it is a terrible disappointment. So you have to judge the whole thing. ”
		— Jean Todt

While Schumacher and Ferrari have dominated the last two seasons, things were a lot closer in previous years. In 1997, Schumacher lost the championship to Jacques Villeneuve in the last race of the season. In 1998, Schumacher lost the title to Mika Hakkinen in the final round. Schumacher won the championship over Hakkinen with just one race to go in 2000.

Ferrari had to focus on just one rival team and driver in each of those championship battles. As this season winds down Ferrari has to worry about two drivers and two teams (Montoya/Williams BMW and Raikkonen/McLaren Mercedes. And Ralf Schumacher (Williams BMW), Fernando Alonso (Renault) and David Coulthard (McLaren Mercedes) have all been winners this year and can play an important role in outcome of the championship as well.

"It is better this way," Todt said. "It makes things more open."

Todt said the team isn't panicking because of the pressure.

"We are used to this," he sad. "I try to get our people to concentrate on their work and to not read the press."

There are three races to go. Like the rest of the teams, Ferrari tested at Monza last week in preparation for the upcoming Italian Grand Prix at the same track. Todt doesn't want to make any projections on how things will go for Ferrari in the races at Monza, Indianapolis and Suzuka, Japan.

"I don't want to predict," he said. "We will try to turn things around. Whether it will be possible or not I don't know."

As for the strategy on how Ferrari and Schumacher plan to take on their challengers in the closest championship battle in years, Todt sums it up in one sentence.

"We just have to be in front," he said.

Dan Knutson covers Formula One for National Speed Sport News and ESPN.com.