Schumacher: No Reason to be Pessimistic

World Champion Michael Schumacher has claimed that there is no reason to be pessimistic despite suffering his first defeat with Ferrari's F2002 car at Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix.

Schumacher insisted he was not downcast after the Monaco Grand Prix following his second-place finish behind David Coulthard and said the points have consolidated his position at the head of the standings.

"Very often, even a second place can be very important and knowing that the Ferrari was the quickest car on the track shows there is no reason to be pessimistic," he said. "Basically, the most important thing is to consolidate the lead in the Championship."

Schumacher, who flew to the United States on Monday for a break before next weekend's Canadian Grand Prix, admitted that starting his 100th Grand Prix for Ferrari shows the strength of his relationship with the team.

And the German four-time champion claimed that he is looking forward to enjoying more success in the "next few years" despite talk of him retiring if he lands a fifth title this season.

"Working for such a long time together shows great mutual trust," Schumacher said. "So far it has been a great time and I am looking forward to the next few years together."

Schumacher has won five of seven races so far this year, and currently leads the Championship by a massive 33 points over Williams drivers Juan Pablo Montoya and Ralf Schumacher.