Maranello, June 11: Ferrari team mates Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello are going to Canada with high hopes of achieving a win in Montreal. Schumacher and Barrichello both tested recently at Ferrari's test track of Fiorano with Schumacher praising the performance of the Ferrari's Formula One engine. Juan Pablo Montoya won the last grand prix, at Monaco, for Williams in a car whose engine, a BMW, has generally been accepted as being the most powerful in Formula One. But after testing, Michael Schumacher said that recent top speeds posted by Ferrari challenged that view. "I think we ought to be able to say that the sort of number one position with another team's engine .. I think we have overtaken them and I am very proud of our engine guys," he said. Schumacher goes to the Gilles Villeneuve track in Montreal just four points behind championship leader Kimi Raikkonen of McLaren, while in the Constructors' championship Ferrari is two points behind McLaren.


The Villeneuve track is well known as one of the hardest tracks on brakes, and cars often suffer from lack of grip on the track. This is because the circuit is only used a few times a year and it takes until the Sunday of the race before enough rubber has been ground into the track surface to let tyres grip.


At Monaco it was the Michelin tyres which excelled in the race, and Bridgestone runners, like Ferrari, who suffered. Ferrari will be taking extra measures to make sure their choice of tyres for the race at Montreal is the correct one.


Bureau Report