Michael Schumacher is fired up to score his first points of the season at this weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix, but Fernando Alonso has warned that Renault will be very well suited to Sepang.
Michael Schumacher is fired up to score his first points of the season at this weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix, but Fernando Alonso has warned that Renault will be very well suited to Sepang.
“We all know that Malaysia is one of the toughest races from a physical point of view,” Schumacher said this week. “For sure, zero points in the season’s first race was not what I expected. This, naturally, will give me an extra boost in Malaysia.”
The seven-time world champion’s race in Australia came to an end after just 42 laps when his Ferrari collided with countryman Nick Heidfeld’s Williams-BMW. Schumacher made his way back to the Ferrari pit and retired, but Ferrari team-mate Rubens Barrichello worked his way up the field to finish second overall.
“From what we saw in Australia, the F2004 M was still competitive, much more than we thought possible,” Schumacher continued. “I think that we can expect a positive result in Sepang. Rubens proved that it is possible to finish highly even after a so-so qualifying session. I have faith because we were very consistent in the Grand Prix. We are ready for the next race.”
However, Alonso will be hoping to improve on his third-place finish in Melboure and has predicted that the Renault R25 will be “even more impressive” compared with its rivals in Malaysia.
“For the drivers, the time when we really feel the difference of the R25 is in high speed corners, so Sepang is obviously one of the races we are looking forward to this year,” Alonso said. “I love the track, there are lots of long, fast corners and it is a place where you really see the potential of the cars.
“In Melbourne, the difference between the best and worst cars was very little, because all you have to do is brake for the slow corners, turn in and get back on the throttle. Sepang is very different, and there is a huge difference from the best to worst cars. I think we will see more of the potential of the R25 in Malaysia.”