Schumacher

SEPANG, Malaysia -- Williams is already banking on Ferrari's Michael Schumacher to retain his world championship crown this year, even though the 2002 Formula One season is just one race old.

Gerhard Berger, motorsport director of BMW-Williams, said the main target facing his team was to see how close it could get to Schumacher, who won the season-opening Australian Grand Prix by 18.6 seconds from Williams's Juan Pablo Montoya.

"Not a boring season, but for a Schumacher world champion," Berger told German news agency SID on Wednesday, when asked if Formula One fans should prepare for a boring season. "But we knew that before. For us, the question is: how close can we get to him?

"I believe that, in Malaysia, we will get a giant step closer to Ferrari but we won't catch them yet.

"Ferrari were damned strong in Melbourne with their modified car from last year, and then, of course, there is McLaren-Mercedes."

Berger said Ferrari's main advantage was the dependability of its cars and he expects the 2002 Ferrari, which will not be used in Malaysia, to be even better than the F2001.

The Malaysian Grand Prix, the second race of the season, takes place Sunday.

Schumacher's brother Ralf, who drives for Williams, suffered a spectacular crash on the first corner in Melbourne but Berger said the driver had suffered no lasting effects.