Michael Schumacher said on Wednesday he is confident he can improve on his disappointing formula-one (F1) campaign of last year, thanks to his new, improved Ferrari.
The seven-times world champion is hoping to bounce back at this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix (GP) after finishing third behind Renault’s Fernando Alonso and McLaren’s Kimi Raikkonen in last year’s championship.
Schumacher, who is skirting speculation over this being his last F1 season, has a new teammate at Ferrari this season with Brazilian Felipe Massa replacing Rubens Barrichello, who has moved to Honda.
The 37-year-old German believes he and Massa have a far better Ferrari to drive in 2006 and expects a better finish than last year.
”Last year, it was sometimes very clear from the beginning you have no chance,” Schumacher told reporters. ”But it’s so exciting to run this year again because this year we have a lot more hope and trust in the package that you could win if things go well.
”The expectation over the weekend is to be somewhere between where we were in Bahrain and where we were in Malaysia.”
Schumacher admitted he settled for sixth place and three potentially precious points long before the finish of the Malaysian GP race dominated by the Renault duo, Giancarlo Fisichella and Alonso, a fortnight ago.
”It’s a little bit difficult to anticipate the situation beforehand, because weather conditions could be quite variable in Melbourne and could have quite an effect,” he said.
Rain is forecast for Saturday’s qualifying, with conditions clearing on Sunday’s race day.
Schumacher said he is tiring of being asked when he will quit the sport. His contract with Ferrari expires at the end of this season and he is already reported as saying 2006 may be his last if he is not a title challenger.
But that is not a topic he wants to expand on ahead of the Australian GP.
”We will just have to wait some time. I will make up my mind at some point and get into the details of what is my preference,” Schumacher said. ”I don’t really want to get into that because it just leads to further speculation. A lot of people speculated before my previous extension of contract, when we extend and so on.
”I extended for three years, then the next speculation was, ‘Okay, what’s going to happen after that?’ There’s always speculation happening. I’ve made decisions in the past and then people keep on speculating.”
Schumacher is tied for second in the drivers’ championship behind world champion Alonso and has an excellent record around Melbourne’s Albert Park street circuit.
Schumacher has won four of the past six Australian grands prix, but crashed out of last year’s race.
”Melbourne is a completely different circuit to Sepang in Malaysia and I hope that it is going to be better suited to our 248 F1 car,” he said. — Sapa-AFP