Jul.17 (GMM) The time has come for Ferrari to select a number one driver for the remainder of the 2008 season, former grand prix winner Ralf Schumacher says.

The former Jordan, Williams and Toyota driver, who exited the sport at the end of last year and now contests the DTM series, believes backing a single driver is Ferrari's best hope of lifting the 2008 title.

Currently, Ferrari drivers Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen are equal on points with McLaren's Lewis Hamilton at the top of the championship charts.

"Gradually now Ferrari has to commit itself to a number one," Schumacher, whose elder brother Michael was the preferred Ferrari driver between 1996 and 2006, told the German newspaper Bild.

British challenger Hamilton, however, disagrees, believing that Ferrari's situation is actually an advantage for the Italian team.

"I think it's an advantage, because it pushes the team towards the constructors' championship," said the McLaren driver, whose own teammate Heikki Kovalainen is a full 24 points adrift.

"It can't be bad for them (Ferrari)," Hamilton added.

Niki Lauda, a former three time winner of the drivers' crown, is of a similar view.

"For Ferrari there is no hurry (to select a number one). Only if one of them drops back clearly do I think they will go fully behind one driver," he said.