16.03.2004 DELIGHTED BY VICTORY IN AUSTRALIA MICHAEL SCHUMACHER LOOKS FORWARD TO THE CHALLENGES OF MALAYSIA

‘Ten points from the first race is a great start; of that there is no doubt.’ Michael Schumacher doesn’t hide his joy at the 71st win of his career, one obtained in overwhelming fashion in Melbourne.

The victory has been absorbed by the six time World Champion: ‘Well, I like the idea of the next race being in Malaysia. I think this second race of the season could be an interesting one, especially as we are all eager to gauge the real significance of our dominance in Australia.’

The Malaysian climate seems to have been made especially to test the efficiency of man and machine: ‘It’s true, Sepang is a very important element in evaluating how we are doing’, continued Michael. ‘It will be important to see how the drivers and the cars stand up in the heat and humidity of Malaysia. I am in the fortunate position of being able to tolerate such conditions well but I think it will be difficult and stressful all the same. We shouldn’t worry too much though, eh?’

As always, fans and rivals have to consider the German’s physical conditioning even though Michael prefers to gloss over this aspect and shifts the focus onto the reliability of the Maranello cars. ‘Ferrari, traditionally, have never had reliability problems.

"And if some believe that the tyres could create some doubt, and it seems to me that there a number of people out there who think this, I’d respond by saying that the Bridgestone tyres are excellent. Rubens stated that he was very satisfied with them after the last series of tests.’

So no worries; on the contrary, and in pure Schumacher style, the harder the going gets, the more he relishes the challenge. ‘I consider this circuit to be a real challenge. It is not easy to drive in these conditions. The Malaysian track has its built-in difficulties: it is flat, maybe too flat, and above all it is very narrow.

'This makes it hard to get the racing line right and each driver has to find the best trajectory. Malaysia is, undoubtedly, full of hazards but also has some enjoyable sections. I can only hope that we can repeat our Melbourne performance!’ This hope is shared by all the fans given that, caution aside, expectations are high. ‘I hope to do well, even though I’d say that my chances aren’t that limited!’