Thursday March 14th, 2002

Michael Schumacher has warned Michelin-shod rivals McLaren and Williams that his Ferrari team's tyre suppliers, Bridgestone, will not suffer in the heat of Malaysia.

Schumacher benefited from Michelin's failure to perform in cool conditions at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix and although he expects them to improve in warmer conditions, he is sure that Bridgestone will not have problems.

"Bridgestone have upped their game for hot conditions," Schumacher said today, at Sepang. "Since Magny Cours last year we have improved.

"A dry race will see them (McLaren and Williams) close to us so I think one of them will almost certainly be on the podium with us if we will be there."

Schumacher has spent the break between the two races in the island of Langkawi, in the north of Malaysia, training and acclimatizing to the heat.

But he is expecting the temperatures to play a part in the race once again, not just for the tyres but also for the drivers.

"I remember the first year, when there was sunshine in the race," said Schumacher. "I was driving off line because there was a shadow on the circuit and you try to look for that."

Published at 05:53:40 GMT