Schumacher backs Barrichello decision

"I was told when it was done," Schumacher smiled, "but it wasn't me sitting there negotiating the contract with him. I fully agree with the decision. I think Rubens has done a fantastic job for us and we have a good relationship."

Asked whether Ferrari might not perhaps have been better served by signing a young charger and grooming him to take over Schumacher's mantle, the world champion said: "Tell me, who is there? Who could do a better job than Rubens? We have a good, stable situation at the moment, so why change it?"

Barrichello has pushed Schumacher hard in the last couple of qualifying sessions and paddock conspiracy theorists have even suggested that Michael may have sand-bagged slightly to help influence any questioning minds within the Ferrari hierarchy and maintain the political status quo.

Schumacher denied that there has been a leap in Barrichello's performance level relative to his own, however. "It could be that he gets along better with the new car and maximises his performance quicker, but I don't see that he was as far away last year as some people made him."

Barrichello himself, said: "The new car has a bit more front end and I can let it run a bit freer. People have said I like a car that understeers but it's not like that. Having said that, I drove the old car in the first two races, when I got my pole position. I think I have improved since the middle of last year."