Monaco, May 29: Reigning world champion Michael Schumacher has dismissed McLaren's new car as "nothing special".

Schumacher is two points behind championship leader Kimi Raikkonen of McLaren but he has won both races since Ferrari introduced their new F2003-GA machine. And he does not expect the new McLaren MP4-18 to knock Ferrari off their perch in the coming months.
"I am not dramatically worried about their new car," said Schumacher. "We have such a masterpiece in our hands that I am sure it will survive the new McLaren. The races may be tighter, but that is not a worry for us.
"I do not think their car looks out of the ordinary. Looking at it, we are not saying 'Did we forget something on our car so that we should be worried?'
"I am sure they will work on its speed and reliability, but I know what we already have and we will be difficult to beat."



McLaren's David Coulthard admitted the new car, which had reliability problems during a three-day shakedown in France, was not yet a world beater.



"You would hope that any new car would go onto the track and be three seconds quicker than anyone else - then you would just polish it and take it to the next Grand Prix," he said. "But that is fantasy rather than reality and it will be ready when it is ready, and then we will take it racing and hope to get some results.



"The Ferrari looked strong in Austria, but it didn't look quite so strong in Barcelona. I think what you are seeing is a variation circuit to circuit in terms of the tyre performance."


Bureau Report