Imola, Apr 16: World champion Michael Schumacher is confident Ferrari can end their winless streak this season at the San Marino Grand Prix. Ferrari are only third in the constructors' championship on 16 points, despite having been overwhelming favourites to take a big lead from the opening races.
Their best finish to date was Rubens Barrichello's second place at the Malaysian Grand Prix. But Schumacher expects to go one better at Imola this weekend.
He said: "Our aim is to give our fans something to celebrate and where better to start than Imola.
"I always wait anxiously for Imola. In a way it is my first home race where we can surely count on the support of our fans. This can only bring out a sense of positive expectancy. It is clear we will have to fight all the way, considering that things could have gone better for us recently."
Ferrari will delay using their new car this season in a bid to guarantee better reliability. But Schumacher insisted last year's car would help the team do the job.



"I really don't believe that using the F2002 is a disadvantage," he added. "Reliability is an important factor so we shouldn't run even the smallest risk. We will see on Sunday what Imola has in store for us."


Bureau Report