Schumacher pins faith in new F2005
 |  Schumacher has only scored two points in the championship this year |
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SAKHIR, Bahrein -- World champion Michael Schumacher hopes to challenge at the front of the grid for the first time this season at this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix, where Ferrari will introduce their new F2005 car.
Schumacher has scored only two points from the opening two races of the season, failing to finish in Melbourne and coming home a distant seventh in Malaysia, causing the Italian marque to move the launch of the F2005 forward to Bahrain.
"We finally race the F2005 this weekend and I have to admit that I can't wait to get on to the track with it," said the 36-year-old German.
"We have tested the new car a lot and it has made a good impression on us. Still we expect another tough battle in Bahrain."
Schumacher, who took the chequered flag after starting from pole position in last year's race, faces his toughest challenge from Renault drivers Fernando Alonso and Giancarlo Fisichella.
Fisichella won in Melbourne while Alonso became the first Spanish driver to lead the F1 standings when he claimed victory in Bahrain. The 23-year-old has 16 points from two races, Fisichella has ten.
Ferrari's cause has not been helped by the performance of Bridgestone's long-life tires, especially in the heat of Malaysia, in comparison to what Michelin are delivering for Renault.
"Michelin were very strong in high temperatures at Sepang, and even though the tire energy is less in Bahrain, the heat will still make it very demanding, so I expect the tires to be competitive," said Alonso.
Bridgestone have admitted that at the moment they are no match for Michelin but have promised to bring an entirely new batch of tires to Bahrain.
Despite racing in Bahrain with new Bridgestone tires and a new car, Schumacher goes into the race weekend as second-favorite behind Alonso.
"The team are definitely on a high at the moment so we will go to Bahrain feeling very optimistic, but it is hard to be certain," said the Renault driver cautiously, perhaps wary of writing off seven-time champion Schumacher.
Every year since 1999 a new Ferrari car has won on its F1 racing debut.
One person not challenging for honors this weekend will be McLaren-Mercedes driver Juan Pablo Montoya, who suffered a shoulder injury during a tennis match with his personal trainer in Madrid at the weekend
The Colombian's place will be taken by McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa of Spain, who will be the team's second driver alongside Kimi Raikkonen.
