Sunday March 17th, 2002

German Ralf Schumacher praised Williams' tyre supplier Michelin after securing his first win of the season at the Malaysian Grand Prix, and added that the nature of the Sepang circuit allowed him to get the best out of his BMW-powered car.

"A lot of credit goes to the tyre which worked perfectly, but it was the whole package," Schumacher said after scoring his fourth win in Formula One. "We can take more advantage out of a strong engine here.

"We have a good efficient car, (but) whether our total downforce is enough or not, we don't know. But it is efficient and that pays off here."

Schumacher insisted that he was confident of outperforming brother Michael at the Malaysian race after roaring to success at Sepang. Ralf watched from the sidelines as Michael guided his Ferrari to victory at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, but hit back in Kuala Lumpur.

Ralf, who finished ahead of teammate Juan Pablo Montoya, said he felt the Malaysian race would suit the Williams package better than Melbourne and was justified in his thinking.

"Basically, I said in Australia already no worries when last year it all started the same," Schumacher said when questioned about his Malaysian performance. "Ferrari had a huge advantage in Australia, and all of a sudden we came here and we nearly out-qualified them and there was a chance."

Published at 11:42:40 GMT