Melbourne, Feb 27: Michael Schumacher's insistence that Ferrari were better prepared for 2004 than for last year's championship double sounded like a defiant battle cry but it has not sent his chief rivals running for cover.
Williams and McLaren, not to mention Renault, are convinced that their advances over the winter will be enough to overthrow Formula One's red empire.
The crunch will be how effectively the pretenders can transform undoubted potential into brace-winning performance.
Too often in recent seasons, Ferrari's success has resulted from their rivals' shortcomings as much as their own technical excellence.
It's not merely the law of averages driving the opposition to believe that the Italian team's record breaking run will end this season.


Bureau Report