Schu sounds warning to his rivals

Reigning world champion Michael Schumacher has warned his rivals he has no intention of letting up as he chases a record sixth drivers’ title.

The German confesses he is hooked on close racing and will put his string of records to the back of his mind as he bids to keep Ferrari ahead of the chasing pack.

He said: "The success I have had so far has not changed anything. I just love wheel-to-wheel racing.

"We know how difficult it is to get to the position that we are in and it is perhaps to some degree even more difficult to stay where we are. For me that is a very big challenge.

"It doesn't matter how many victories or the number of titles.

I may have, I simply look forward to the next challenge and there is always a new one."

With team orders which tainted Schumacher's 2002 title now banned, he expects team-mate Rubens Barrichello to be his biggest threat if Ferrari again produce the fastest car.

He said: "I rate him very highly."

And Schumacher expects that the status quo to remain the same this year, despite a raft of rule changes designed to spice up grand prix weekends.

"Who is going to be first? I hope it's us and I think we can be but who is going to be the second one? That's a little bit open," he added.

"In my view it's going to be McLaren and Williams who are going to be strong opponents."

But Schumacher believes the absence of electronic aids will make racing more unpredictable in some conditions, but has reservations about the radio ban.