Michael Schumacher has launched an attack on Ferrari's special advisor, Niki Lauda, saying the Austrian Formula One former World Champion is no longer in a position to criticize Ferrari. "He (Niki Lauda) is welcome to criticize Ferrari all he wants to, but he is not making any friends with his accusations," Schumacher told "Welt am Sonntag". He added that Lauda "has lost the ability to see why things are going wrong." Schumacher explained that Lauda was a key factor in building the current Ferrari team some five years ago, but "now the team is working on its own leaving Lauda without a job."

Schumacher went on to say that "in Melbourne, all the things that could go wrong did go wrong. But if people think that is how the rest of the season will look, then they are surely wrong." He took the opportunity to blame the new tires again, saying: "As a driver I intended to give it my all. I will push myself to the limit. But at present this is difficulty to achieve. The tires are really slowing down the cars."

Despite his 8th place showing at Melbourne, Schumacher said he can still win the World Championship. "With this car I can be world champion, I have a realistic chance," said the German. He asks that his fans will be patient, saying "it takes time to transform a team."