Schumacher expresses his thanks

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."