Schumacher bullish about Ferrari's chances

The former world champion had originally not been scheduled to get back into the car until a test at Barcelona next week, but decided to make an early return because of the issues that Ferrari need to resolve before Imola.

As well as concerns about engine reliability, Ferrari's biggest problem at the moment is in exploiting more from their Bridgestone tyres. The team's Australian Grand Prix performance suffered because they opted not to run new cold weather rubber.

"I was supposed to stay home but, despite the long trip back from Australia, I was feeling fairly in shape and I thought the best thing was to get back immediately in the car," Schumacher told Gazzetta dello Sport.

"For Imola we absolutely must have the right tyres; at that track everything is completely different, a different world compared to the first three races.

"Here the objective was also to verify the reliability of the engine with a new configuration. That's why (test driver, Luca) Badoer and I have done some long runs which were carried out successfully."

Ferrari are planning to introduce a major upgrade to their 248 F1 for Imola, with improvements to the engine, suspension and aerodynamics. Schumacher believes that if he had not got back in the car until next week it would have left him with too little time to fully evaluate the modifications.

"If I didn't come to Vallelunga, I would have had to make all the choices in Barcelona and maybe that would have been too late. In Spain we'll concentrate on the new aerodynamic and suspension components.

"It's difficult to make promises for the San Marino Grand Prix. I can say we're all very motivated and this season's challenge excites us. This car is really very strong; the problem is that we haven't been able to fully exploit its potential yet.

"I hope it's a new Ferrari, nothing to do with last year's. At crucial moments it has demonstrated to be very fast, the important thing now is to be able to have consistent performance."

Schumacher has also said that he was not surprised by Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo's support of him following the criticism he received for his crash at the Australian Grand Prix.

"I'm happy about di Montezemolo's words of esteem [towards me], but I'm not surprised.

"The president knows me well, he knows my qualities and my flaws, we've been working together for a long time and he knows the Melbourne track is very hard. I made a mistake and was criticized for it, it's normal this happens."