Schumy warns Ferrari must keep focused

World champion Michael Schumacher has warned Ferrari they cannot afford to be complacent despite a perfect start to the season.

The German has won three races from pole position going into this weekend’s San Marino Grand Prix on Ferrari’s home ground at Imola, a track named after team founder Enzo.

But the six-time champion is refusing to sit back and enjoy Ferrari’s dominance, urging his team to continue their endless testing programme in a bid to squeeze out extra performance.

He told his personal website: “We are traditionally very strong at Imola and I naturally hope we can keep that up.

“Testing is not Ferrari’s secret to success, it is the secret of Formula One itself.

“If we rest on our laurels that would be the first step to defeat.

“We can always go further, always do a little better and we have many areas in which we can and will prepare.

“The European season begins here and that is the natural place for the largest phase of developments to come in. We will not rest yet.”

Schumacher is keen to play down any suggestion that his superb start to the season will put extra pressure on his shoulders.

With Ferrari’s notoriously fanatical supporters set to descend on Imola in huge numbers, anything other than a Ferrari one-two will be a disappointment.

But Schumacher, a veteran of 14 seasons in grand prix racing, insists he can handle their expectations.

“Primarily it means more motivation for all the team,” he added.

“With pressure, I have no problem. I have had to live with it for a long time.”

Juan Pablo Montoya is one man who is keen to crank up the pressure on Schumacher, for whom the season has been plain sailing so far.

The Williams driver is adamant he can yet challenge for the world title, despite lagging 18 points behind Schumacher.

The Colombian said: “Our car is not uncompetitive. We were second in Malaysia and we both finished in the points in Australia so the car is good, but at the moment it is not yet a winning machine. Let’s hope that changes soon.

“We cannot focus our racing just on what Ferrari can do. We’ve got to focus our racing on what we are doing and how we can make it happen.

“We cannot make Ferrari go any slower. All we can do is to ensure that we do the best job with what we have got.”