Schumacher Gives Ecclestone Hope for the Future

Michael Schumacher offered some crumbs of comfort to disgruntled Formula One ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone on Saturday after once again putting Ferrari in pole position for the Australian Grand Prix.

"Tough times will come," the six-times champion said after Ferrari swept the front row at Albert Park for the fourth successive season. "Things look good here but might not be elsewhere. I don't want to be too ambitious because I know it is going to be a tough season. Other races will suit us less well than this one."

Ecclestone had sounded dismayed at the prospect of the Italian team, who have won the constructors' title for the last five years, embarking on another triumphant year after dominating Friday's practice.

"This is not the sort of day we were expecting or wanted to see," he had told reporters. "It's a disaster. Ferrari were not supposed to be going this fast. They were supposed to have all sorts of problems with tyres and their engines but it doesn't look like they have.

"We need a new champion," he added. "I thought (McLaren's) Kimi Raikkonen might do it this year but fortunately I didn't put any money on him."

Schumacher batted off Ecclestone's comments at a post-qualifying news conference.

"Okay," he replied when asked if he was concerned that Ecclestone should consider Ferrari domination to be a disaster. "Listen, you won't get a quote from me on this one."

The German could hardly have asked for a better start to his quest for an unprecedented seventh title however, as the two Ferraris qualified for Sunday's race half a second faster than the third-placed Williams of Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya.

Ferrari were the last of the top teams to launch their new car and they cautioned at the time that some crucial aerodynamic parts were not ready. At the same time, tyre supplier Bridgestone was widely portrayed in the media as failing to match their Michelin rivals who supply Williams, McLaren, Renault and BAR.

"I am very happy with this result, even though I realise that the qualifying format does not paint a clear picture of the situation," said Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn. "Having said that, I think we have made a clear choice in terms of race strategy.

"I must congratulate the team for doing a great job and Bridgestone, who have proved how inaccurate was the criticism levelled at them by the media in the last few months."