Ralf: I need to adapt to new regs

Ralf Schumacher has said that he still has to get used to the new one-shot qualifying format after a number of small errors on his hot lap left him in a lowly 17th position for Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix

Mar 22, 2003, 8:27 AM

The German has struggled with the balance of his FW25 all weekend, and admitted that he shouldn't be quite so far off the pace of team-mate Juan Pablo Montoya, who managed eighth on the grid.

"I am still not happy with the balance of my car and in addition to this I made a couple of mistakes in two corners, where I lost some time," said Schumacher. "Anyway, I shouldn't be 0.8s away from my team-mate. It's clear that I have to get used to this new qualifying system. Nevertheless I believe we have a good strategy compared to the other teams and our performance will improve for Sunday."

Although Montoya was only eighth, he was relieved to be that high up after witnessing Schumacher's lap. He said: "I was very worried when I saw Ralf's lap, as he was struggling with his balance quite a lot. However, I am pretty happy that we are quite close to McLaren and I think that we look pretty good for the race thanks to our strategy."