Schumacher expresses his thanks

Michael Schumacher is confident that he will be on top form for this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix, both because of the public support that has helped he and his brother Ralf to bounce back from the death of their mother Elisabeth and the speed of the Ferrari F2003-GA that he will be giving its debut

Apr 28, 2003, 2:56 PM

The five-time World Champion says that the decision to delay the planned introduction of the F2003-GA by a fortnight from the San Marino GP to this weekend's Spanish GP at the Circuit de Cartalunya near Barcelona was the right one.

"It has done both Ralf and I good to see how much support we've received from so many quarters," said Michael. "The messages of sympathy were a great help and I'd like to thank all those who supported us, including the many newspapers and television channels who respected our wishes for privacy."

As to the F2003-GA, Ferrari is now confident that its new car has the reliability to match its speed, and Michael is convinced that the time is right for its introduction, saying: "I'm looking forward to the new car. We know it's faster than the old car and when you're a driver you can never get enough speed. I know that I can rely totally on the people at Ferrari and I'm certain that the car will be competitive."