F1: Bridgestone have M.Schumacher approval
pr...@motorsport.com
The battle of the tyre giants will heat up in Malaysia this weekend where
Michelin hope the heat will give them a performance boost. Michael
Schumacher disagrees and thinks Bridgestone will have the advantage no
matter what the conditions -- despite predictions that Michelin was the way
to go, Ferrari stuck with Bridgestone tyres for this season.
"I think we will still have the better tyre," said Schumacher. "Maybe not to
the extent we saw in Australia, but I disagree completely with the idea that
Bridgestone will not be competitive in Malaysia. This opinion is based on
last year, when the Bridgestone's suffered a bit in the hot weather in the
early part of the season. At the beginning of last year, there was
definitely a gap between us and Michelin but by the mid-season the gap had
closed."
Schumacher, who is chasing his third consecutive Malaysian GP win, said that
the French Grand Prix last year proved that Ferrari had overcome any
potential problems. "At the French GP we were more than competitive, even if
the so-called experts believed the opposite prior to the race, that's why
I'm very optimistic about the Malaysian race. I am sure we will be in
contention for the win."
Ferrari will once again use the older F2001 chassis in Malaysia but the
German is confident it's just as competitive as other teams' new cars. "In
Australia, we saw that our car is not inferior to our rivals' 2002 cars," he
said. "Both in general and specifically, in terms of speed. It is an
advantage knowing our car so well, because we did a perfect job working on
set- up over the weekend. I don't see why things should be different in
Malaysia, especially in the unique conditions we will encounter there. I am
in total agreement with the team's decision, even if testing results with
the new car have been very encouraging."
The extreme climate of Malaysia means that drivers and teams can be
affected; Schumacher has been in the country since the weekend to prepare:
"It is very important to get used to the Malaysian climate. Sepang is
definitely the toughest and most demanding race physically. That's why we
decided not to return to Europe." He explained.
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