Ferrari not concerned yet

Ferrari is remaining unconcerned about its results in the first two races of 2003, which have seen Michael Schumacher not yet on the podium. Rubens Barrichello redeemed himself by finishing second in Malaysia, after crashing out of the first race at Melbourne, but Schumacher has so far only managed fourth and sixth place results.

The champion is not about to worry: "We must not draw hasty conclusions from races that don't go according to plan," he commented. "There were special circumstances in these races and my mistakes did not exactly help. There will be races when other teams have advantages and there will be races in which we have advantages."

"It would be presumptuous to believe that there could be a repeat of the 2002 season -- we never believed that. But we are not facing a crisis, absolutely not."

The outcome of the first two races is not about to make Ferrari rush into introducing its new car ahead of schedule either. The F2003-GA is expected to make an appearance at the fourth race, the San Marino Grand Prix and although the team thinks the new car will be more competitive, it will continue with the F2002 for Brazil.

"We knew our competitors had made progress and this race only serves to confirm that," said principal Jean Todt after Sepang. "Now we have to work along with our technical partners Bridgestone and Shell to be as well prepared as possible for the next race in Brazil, where we will continue to race the F2002. In the meantime, we will continue with the development of the F2003-GA, which we know is more competitive than the current car."

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