Monday March 25th, 2002

Four-time World Champion Michael Schumacher revealed on Monday that he is confident he can beat his Williams and McLaren rivals using the new Ferrari at this weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix.

Schumacher's Italian team decided late on Sunday to send their new F2002 chassis to Sao Paulo for him to drive at Interlagos and he is confident the car will take him further ahead of his rivals.

"Things have to keep moving in Formula One, and the F2002 is now faster than the F2001," said Schumacher. "I was already optimistic that we'd be able to drive to win in Brazil. Now I'm even more so."

Schumacher was forced to race his old car in the opening Grand Prix of the season in Australia after the new machine suffered reliability problems.

He astounded his rivals by taking a comfortable victory in Melbourne but after suffering defeat in Malaysia at the hands of his brother Ralf and Williams, Ferrari have brought the F2002 into action early.

But Schumacher is yet to decide whether to actually race the new car and may opt for caution and return to the old car if the grueling Brazilian circuit proves too much for the new machine.

"Obviously you can never be 100 percent sure but all our tests have shown that the F2002 is reliable and I was delighted when I heard about the team's decision to use the new car," said Schumacher.

"But, particularly as we haven't been able to try out the new car in conditions comparable to Brazil, it's a good idea to keep the old car on board. The fact that we've already had a first and a third with it this season was more than we expected and shows that the F2001 is by all means competitive.

"And on circuits like Interlagos, it could be crucial that we know the old car through and through. After all, every point is important in this phase of the season. The World Championship most definitely won't be decided after the first three races."

Published at 15:49:39 GMT