Schumacher: F2003-GA Not Worth Risking at Imola

Mechanical problems with Ferrari's new car made it too risky to use at Sunday's San Marino Grand Prix at Imola, according to World Champion Michael Schumacher.

"It's not yet 100 percent reliable. It'll be a big step forwards in terms of performance, but there's no point in taking the risk," the German driver was quoted as saying in Monday's Corriere della Sera.

Ferrari team principal Jean Todt had hoped to introduce the F2003-GA at Imola, but changed his mind after experiencing problems with the car's V10 engine during testing last week.

The Italian manufacturer, which dominated last year's Championship, has failed to win any of the three races this year in their 2002 car. Five-times World Champion Schumacher, however, denied that success had made the team complacent.

"You've only to see the new car and the work that's been done to improve the old one to know that's not true," he said. "We've still got the fastest car. The season has only just begun and there's nothing to worry about.

"The difference (between this year and last) is that we've been unlucky. At the Australian Grand Prix it was the weather, in Brazil we fell foul of the new regulations. Only in Malaysia were we clearly slower, but that was also the case last year".