Ralf Won't be Replaced Despite Team Criticism

Williams driver Ralf Schumacher will not be replaced before the Japanese Grand Prix despite criticism from the team over his refusal to continue racing in China.

Schumacher, who returned to racing after a three-month break following his crash at the United States Grand Prix in June, collided with McLaren's David Coulthard on lap 37 of the Chinese Grand Prix. He drove into the pits with what he believed was a suspension failure and retired from the race.

"I came into the pits to fix the car which we thought had been damaged," Ralf said after the race, "but after a careful look, the engineers decided that I could continue the race. However, too much time had elapsed by then and it was too late to get out on track again, because I would have been two laps down."

Ralf's reluctance to continue racing reportedly angered his team managers, and team chief Frank Williams was quoted as telling The Sun: "I always like to get our cars to the end if possible. I would have preferred him to have carried on."

But despite the criticism, the Williams team rejected speculations that Schumacher could be replaced for the next two Grands Prix with test driver Antonio Pizzonia, who was driving in place of Schumacher while he was recovering from his injuries.

"Ralf will categorically be racing in Japan," head of engineering, Patrick Head, told Atlas F1 today.

Schumacher is leaving Williams at the end of this season to join Toyota on a long term contract.