Formula One Austrian Grand Prix: Ferrari's Michael Schumacher has said this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix can't come soon enough as he bids to overtake championship leader Kimi Raikkonen in the Formula One title chase.
Schumacher, who had a troubled start to the season, took victory in the last two grands prix in Spain and San Marino to close within four points of McLaren driver Raikkonen.
"After two strong races for us, I am impatient to tackle the next grand prix, which will give us the chance to close up the gap in the world championship," said Schumacher, before recalling last year's controversial race in which he took victory only after team-mate Rubens Barrichello pulled aside under team orders yards from the finishing line: "Last year, the Austrian event was difficult for us but it is not worth making any comparison with today as the current situation is very different.
From a technical viewpoint, the A1 Ring demands a lot of the brakes and front tyres and you need a well balanced car not to ruin the tyres. As far as set-up is concerned, our car is a big help because it has no real weak points. The way our new car, the F2003-GA, is shaping up we can have high hopes for Austria."
After last year's debatable finish the Ferrari team received a $500,000 fine and the sport's governing body, the FIA, banned team orders at the start of this year. A rule that the German driver believes to be difficult to implement.
Schumacher said: "Whether it is enforceable or not I don't know, but certainly the obvious team orders will obviously be enforceable."
Meanwhile, Jordan's Ralph Firman is hoping to continue the point scoring record he began at Barcelona a fortnight ago despite the rookie having no experience of this weekend's Austrian venue.
Firman silenced critics, who had questioned his racing ability, at the Spanish Grand Prix turning a clever strategy into an eighth-place, single-point finish with a faultless drive studded with impressive lap times and several audacious overtaking manoeuvres. Firman said that the points finish has boosted his confidence ahead of this weekend's race in Spielberg.
"It's definitely a confidence booster to be going to a race after scoring my first point and I am looking forward to scoring another," said the 27-year-old, before admitting that a performance like his Barcelona outing is a big ask. "I've been skiing in Austria but never raced there, though I am looking forward to it as the circuit looks interesting with good overtaking opportunities."
Jordan's head of race and test team engineering Gary Anderson admitted this weekend's race is one of the big unknowns of the season.
"It's difficult to know which way to go because it's not easy to pass here although there are opportunities, braking for the low speed corners," said Anderson. "It's traditionally a one-stop race but this year I am sure we are going to see different strategies coming into play for the first time. It's going to be more unpredictable and a bit of a lottery to be honest."
Firman's team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella has endured a miserable time since his win in Brazil a month ago, with 15th place at Imola followed by a torrid afternoon in Barcelona in which a fuel rig failure and then engine problems wrecked his race. Austria, however, was good to the Italian last year when he scored Jordan's first points on the 2002 season at the A1 Ring, a result which began a sequence of points finishes for the Jordan number one.
"Austria is one of the circuits I like - especially since I was on pole here in 1998," he said, recalling his maiden and only poll position, scored when racing for Bennetton. "We scored points in the Austrian Grand Prix last year and I feel confident at the A1 ring. The track is quite good, you can overtake in places and I hope to score points again this year."
