It Will be a Difficult Season, Says Todt

Ferrari sporting director Jean Todt is expecting a difficult season as the Italian squad fight to defend both their titles.

World Champions Ferrari were dominant at the season opening Australian Grand Prix earlier this month, with German four-time champion Michael Schumacher scoring his first win of the season ahead of Williams' Juan Pablo Montoya and McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen.

But the Williams team turned the tables at Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix, and Ralf Schumacher led the first one-two finish for the Grove-based squad since 1996, with Michael finishing in a distant third place after an incident with Montoya at the start.

Todt admitted he is expecting Williams to be a tough competitor this year, but added that Ferrari will keep on working to leave the disappointment behind them.

"I'm happy only when Ferrari finishes first. Or second. Who's happy is only Frank Williams," Todt told Gazzetta dello Sport. "But one must not give way to emotions. We hadn't already won the Championship after Australia, so it would be ridiculous to say we have lost it after Malaysia.

"The Malaysian race was a difficult one. Michael lost every chance of victory at the start. With this I'm not saying that he would have won, because our rivals were really strong. On the other hand, what a shame for Rubens Barrichello, who was stopped by an engine failure, when he could have finished second.

"It will be a difficult year, and the four points won are very important. Williams, BMW, and Michelin are very close together and after Australia they reacted very well. Now we will concentrate on testing in Barcelona."

Ferrari used an updated version of last year's F2001 chassis in the first two races, and will carry out a test at the Barcelona circuit this week with the new F2002 before deciding which machine to take to the Brazilian Grand Prix.