Schumacher Confident F2002 will Debut in Australia

World Champion Michael Schumacher is confident the new Ferrari F2002 will make its racing debut at the Australian Grand Prix on March 3.

The Italian squad, who have won the last three Constructors' Championships, were one of the last Formula One teams to unveil their 2002 challenger, launching the new F2002 last Wednesday in Maranello.

Both sporting director Jean Todt and technical director Ross Brawn have admitted they have yet to decide if the new car will be used in the first race of the season, but after testing without problems on Sunday and Monday, four-time World Champion Schumacher is almost sure he will use the F2002 in Australia.

"It is 99 percent certain I will race at Melbourne with the F2002," said Schumacher. "In particular I am surprised how reliable it is. There have been no problems up to now and we are confident about the future."

Schumacher admitted the team will still have to undertake scrupulous testing to ensure against failure at the first races. But he is confident the new car, which features a unique new back end, will pass the test and strengthen his bid for the defence of his crown from the very start.

"Before going to Australia we will simulate a Grand Prix so that we can be totally sure about the first race," he said. We want to drive a lot of kilometres now to detect any weak areas - and I am sure we will find a few here and there.

"But the new car is great. I felt good about it from the word go. I have to really praise our engineers, mechanics and all the other people in charge. They've built such a great fast car, which is dependable from the start on top of everything else."

The German star drove the F2002 for the first time on Sunday, breaking the previous Fiorano track record, but Brawn and Todt said Ferrari would decide which car to use in the next few weeks.