Michael Schumacher believes his formula-one rivals must lay down their championship challenge in the opening three races of the season — starting with Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix.
The 36-year-old German, who statistically is the most successful driver in formula-one history with 83 wins from 212 grands prix, is after eight world titles, six of them in succession with Ferrari after landing two with Benetton in 1994/95.
Few, if any, in the sport are predicting anything other than another season triumph for Schumi, whose relentless domination has raised criticism of the sport’s predictability.
But Schumacher is unperturbed about the possibility that Ferrari may not be quite up to mark in Sunday’s season-opening grand prix.
Ferrari have decided that they will use their championship-winning 2004 car with some modifications in the opening three grands prix of the season in Australia, Malaysia (March 20) and Bahrain (April 3) while they develop their new season car in Europe for its first race showing at Imola on April 24.
”I might still win — that’s what we’re for — but our chances are less compared to if we had the new car,” Schumacher said in Melbourne on Wednesday.
”It’s a matter of fact that having the old car will move us backwards compared to if we had the new car.
”That’s a decision we took … having more time to develop the new car will mean it will arrive at a higher level than if we had it here and then we might never achieve that level.
”You don’t win a championship by just winning the first race, that’s not really the point.
”You have to go the whole season, and you have to put the strategy in place for what you want to achieve.
”We want to achieve the world championship title for constructors and drivers, and that takes the whole season.”
Same outcome likely
Yet despite Schumacher’s public cautiousness, Ferrari usually run their previous years’ cars in the season-opening races in Melbourne without any discernible problems and the same outcome is likely again this weekend.
Schumacher has won four of the last Australian grands prix, with only David Coulthard breaking the stranglehold for McLaren in 2003, and Ferrari are bidding for their fifth straight pole position in Melbourne, even behind the wheel of previous season cars.
New season regulations are seen by commentators as officialdom’s attempts to rein in Ferrari’s dominance — allowing just one set of tyres for qualifying and racing, using the same engine for two races, and less downforce.
But Schumacher won’t hear of talk of Ferrari simply overpowering their rivals and consequently damaging the sport.
”I can’t see our so-called dominance we had last year will be able to keep going like that, for the simple reason that we have been dominant because others have been doing a rather poor job compared to us,” he said.
”They will have learned from their mistakes, and we can see from winter testing it looks that they have been able to create quite a good package.
”You can’t blame Ferrari for doing as well as they do; you may blame the others for not doing as good as [Ferrari] do.
”If they can, then we will have an interesting fight. If it’s a tough fight, we can do it, no question about it.”
Main threat
Yet again Schumacher’s ever-reliable Brazilian teammate Rubens Barrichello looks his main championship threat.
”I could be sitting down earning my money and go home happy, but I’m not made like that,” Barrichello said on Wednesday.
”I’m sick of losing and I try to keep getting better and better.
”The status I have earned at Ferrari is as big as Michael, the respect I have. The day that I feel Michael is unbeatable is the day I go home and stay with my family.
”I’m sorry if I lack a little bit of modesty, but I don’t think the gap is big.”
Ferrari’s outside threat appears to come from Renault and McLaren.
Young Spaniard Fernando Alonso made giant strides with Renault last year and McLaren appear to have a potential combustible mix with Kimi Raikkonen and the explosive Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya.
Another with title aspirations is exciting young Englishman Jenson Button with BAR-Honda. — Sapa-AFP