Gene Made to Wait on Silverstone Drive

Williams-BMW could hold out until as late as Friday morning to make a decision on whether to hand Spaniard Marc Gene a chance to redeem himself after a disappointing race at the French Grand Prix on Sunday.

Test driver Gene, who is chasing a race seat at the team for 2005, was given a one-race chance to replace the injured Ralf Schumacher at Magny-Cours but qualified only eighth and finished 10th.

German driver Schumacher will be out for at least two-and-a-half months after his heavy crash at the United States Grand Prix in June and Williams are understood to be keen to try out potential 2005 drivers.

Gene is on the list along with fellow test driver Antonio Pizzonia, former champion Jacques Villeneuve and Australian Jaguar driver Mark Webber and the team are yet to decide who will drive in this weekend's British Grand Prix.

When asked whether Gene would be in the car at Silverstone, BMW motorsport boss Mario Theissen said: "It is not decided yet. We will decide on a race-by-race basis. We will discuss it then make our decision no later than Friday."

The Spanish test driver, veteran of 35 Grands Prix, admitted he was disappointed by his racing comeback but hopes it was good enough to convince the team to give him another chance.

Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya will leave the team for McLaren-Mercedes at the end of the year and they are currently searching for a replacement. They may also have to replace Schumacher if, as is expected, he decides to leave.

Gene last raced at the Italian Grand Prix in 2003, when he replaced Schumacher after the German had a heavy testing crash at Monza and went on to claim points with a fifth place finish.