Schumacher quietly confident

Schumacher, who faced tough opposition from McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen and Williams driver Juan Pablo Montoya last year, said that the next few weeks of testing will be crucial to his chances of beating them again in 2004.

"I know that people were expecting the new car to look different, but what matters is the result on the stopwatch," said Schumacher. "It does look similar to last year's car, which if I remember correctly was quite good and won both championships! Now we must wait and see how the testing goes, when we will have a better indication of its potential."

Schumacher admitted he was intrigued by the radical front-end treatment of the new Williams, but says it now has to prove its worth on the racetrack.

"It's a very interesting innovation, but at the end of the day it has to be quick enough," he said. "Our car may not be as radical, but we will find out in the first race how good our rivals are."

On the subject of the upcoming season, Michael said he was as upbeat about his chances as any season before.

"The next season is always your toughest," he said. "But I am as motivated as ever, for the simple reason that I love to race."