Reliability first for Schumacher

After having spent a week in the company of his family, on Tuesday Michael will once again be in action: he will take part in a presentation of Shell V-Power fuel in Berlin. On Wednesday, a game of football is planned with the National Drivers at Serravalle, now a traditional warm-up for Imola. Ferrari have not yet unleashed the new F20003-GA, contrary to everybody's expectations. Is it a disadvantage for the Scuderia Ferrari in the battle for championship points?

"Drivers always want to have the fastest car available," Michael revealed. "But considering the new points system, this has perhaps become less important; the main question is one of reliability. With our championship winning car we have raced better and in the first three races of the season we have seen that it is still fast. It is certainly not down to a lack of speed that we have won so few points so far."

"So, it is quite obvious that we took the decision to go for the safer option, and I fully agree with this. I have not experienced another car like the F2002. It is simply a fantastic racing car. From this point of view, maybe it is just special to be able to drive the single-seater that won the world championship; who knows, maybe we can send it into retirement with a victory!"

Michael doesn't believe that the pressure on Ferrari has increased with this decision. "We are always under pressure. In a way we put pressure on ourselves, but not due to the recent results. It is just the high standards that we have always tried to maintain. This is what motivates us. We only want to get out of the situation we now find ourselves in and I don't see any reason why we can't do that."

"In the last two races we knew from the off that they would be difficult. If I think back to the last two races, even considering the bad luck we had, I don't see any reason why we should panic. On the contrary, It would be counter-productive in my view. This doesn't mean that I can't take criticism: I can if it is based on reality; to be a winner you also have to know how to deal with defeat. I also tell myself that so many things have gone against us in a short space of time that perhaps our bad luck is now over. So: let's go for it!"

-ferrari-

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