Ralf and Montoya Equally Talented, Says Berger

Gerhard Berger, the BMW motorsports boss, has refuted suggestions that Williams-BMW driver Juan Pablo Montoya is slower than his German teammate Ralf Schumacher following the Colombian's performance in the last race, at Imola.

As Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello cruised to a one-two for Ferrari, Montoya dropped away from the younger Schumacher as the Williams pair trailed home third and fourth.

But Berger said that Montoya's lack of pace was due to a less suitable set-up for the Italian circuit and said that the pair are so equally matched that the balance of the car is all that makes the difference.

"They are pretty much equal, it is just that Juan Pablo did not get his set-up right in the last race," said Berger today at Barcelona. "If you have two very equal drivers as they are then it is more up to the daily performance.

"If you don't get the set-up 100 percent right it is easy to end up behind your teammate - but it can be different this race. Both have the same talent and it is just down to the performance on the day."

Michael Schumacher is now 14 points ahead of his brother Ralf and a further three ahead of Montoya, and Berger insists that although their rivalry could be costly to the team it is more positive than negative.

"Maybe it can hurt sometimes," he said. "But also I am sure a lot of the time it can bring an advantage."