MELBOURNE, April 2 - Michael Schumacher said Ferrari faced an uphill
task to get their world championship campaign back on track after he and Felipe
Massa crashed out of Sunday's Australian Grand Prix.
"It's clear we have work to do," the seven-times champion told reporters.
With their domination of Formula One rapidly becoming a distant memory, the
Maranello team suffered a dire weekend.
Massa crashed in qualifying and started the race from 15th on the grid, while
Schumacher failed to make the top 10 of Saturday's shootout.
The Brazilian crashed again on the first lap, taking Williams' Nico Rosberg
with him, before Schumacher completed the team's nightmare by spinning off on
lap 33 while challenging Honda's Jenson Button for fifth place.
"I was pushing to the maximum to try and close on Jenson," said the German,
who had won four of the previous six races in Australia. "I tucked in behind him
and unexpectedly I got some heavy understeer and finished on the grass."
Schumacher's shunt scattered debris across the track and prompted the third
of four safety car interruptions.
"Our main problem today was keeping the tyres up to temperature, especially
in the first part of the race and also because there were a few safety car
periods," said the German.
"We had chosen the compound especially for this race and once they reached
the right operating temperature they worked well.
"At first it was difficult to drive, after locking the tyres a few times they
were completely finished."
After a promising start to his campaign in Bahrain, where he finished second
to Renault's champion Fernando Alonso, Schumacher's attempt to recapture the
title he held for five years in a row until 2005 has stalled.