Head says we'll take it race-by-race

Although it could be said that Schumacher inherited victory in the European GP when Kimi Raikonnen's McLaren retired from the lead, Williams were the class of the field at Magny-Cours.

"There are six races before the end of the year, so quite a long way to go and we will take it race-by-race," BMW WilliamsF1 Team technical director Patrick Head. "We really started a long way behind and everyone has worked really hard. It is beginning to come together."

Head attributed recent improvements to a few mechanical changes and strong progress in the aerodynamic department, while chief operations engineer Sam Michael also mentioned the strong progress made by Michelin.

Asked whether he thought the team could take the championships, Head replied: "I have always had the habit of looking at each race, and it somehow works out that if you did well in each individual race, then you look at it at the end and say, goodness, we won the championship! I think it is a big mistake to look at the championship by itself. You just have to look at it race-by-race."

Juan Pablo Montoya was quoted over the weekend as saying that he expected Williams to find the going harder in the next race, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, on July 20. Head is not so sure. "I gather Juan (Montoya) said in an interview that we wouldn't be as competitive at Silverstone," he said, "so clearly we have got some homework to do... but all our guys will be working really hard to make sure we are competitive."