Montoya predicts strong French run

The Colombian, who has been on pole for the last four races, believes that his Williams/BMW/Michelin package can rack up more world championship points on Sunday.

"I think Magny-Cours is a pretty good circuit and it should prove to be a strong race for us," said Montoya. "Last year the race was not so good for me and I retired from second place, so I am hoping to score some points this time. My priority is to improve my position in the drivers' World Championship standings."

BMW's motorsport director Gerhard Berger is also predicting another impressive performance from the team, but says it might not be enough to stop Ferrari's Michael Schumacher from winning the title this weekend.

"At the last race in Silverstone we managed to make it to the podium again and we are hoping for good results in France as well," said Berger. "In view of Ferrari's current performance, Michael Schumacher might win the championship in Magny-Cours. At the same time, we also want to make a step forward in our ambitions to strengthen our second position in the Constructors' World Championship in relation to McLaren.

"The new aerodynamic package we used for the first time in Silverstone should help us, as well as the tests which were focused on tyre development in order to perform more consistently in the race," he added.