Ralf Schumacher blasts Ferrari "arrogance" (Agencies) Updated: 2005-03-22 10:28
Ferrari's poor start to the Formula One season is down to the Italian team's
arrogance, according to German driver Ralf Schumacher.
 Toyota Formula One
driver Ralf Schumacher of Germany walks outside the paddock of Malaysia's
Sepang International Circuit March 17, 2005.
[Reuters] | "Ferrari have brought this on
themselves," Schumacher, brother of Ferrari driver and seven-times world
champion Michael Schumacher, told Germany's mass circulation Bild newspaper.
"How can they be so arrogant as to start the season with the old car? On top
of that, they're going it alone with their own tyre contract."
Michael Schumacher, driving the 2004 Ferrari that served him so well last
season, finished a distant seventh in the Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday, after
failing to finish in the opening race in Melbourne.
After two races, the champion is in 11th place in the world championship
standings with two points, 14 behind Spain's Fernando Alonso, the winner at
Sepang.
Ferrari are also trailing in fourth place in the constructors championship
with 10 points, 16 behind Renault.
Team bosses must now decide whether to introduce the new F2005 car at the
third race of the season in Bahrain, after originally planning a debut for round
five in Barcelona.
The decision will depend on testing in Mugello this week, with Michael
Schumacher due to drive the new car for the first time on Wednesday.
"I've heard a lot about the car from our test driver Luca Badoer," Schumacher
said at his personal website on Monday. "I'm looking forward to at last trying
it out myself.
"The first drive is always exciting once again."
Schumacher was pictured as a snail in Monday's Bild newspaper, after
finishing one minute 19 seconds behind Alonso in Malaysia, while Sueddeutsche
Zeitung signalled the end of an era in the sport.
"There's a new colour-scheme in Formula One, with (Renault's) sky-blue the
shade of the season," the newspaper wrote.
Schumacher accepted that things had not gone well in the opening two races
but warned against writing off his chances.
"After two botched races you can say that the situation is tough," Schumacher
said. "It's definitely not hopeless, though.
"I've often known it to happen that in one race I haven't had a chance and
then in the next I've challenged for victory."
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