Ralf Not Ready to Back Off for Montoya

Ralf Schumacher said on Thursday that he would take Williams-BMW teammate Juan Pablo Montoya off the track at this weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix, if it increases his chances of victory.

The pair almost collided in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix two weeks ago when German Schumacher failed to leave space for Montoya when the Colombian was attempting to return to the track after running wide onto the grass.

When questioned about the incident ahead of the Malaysian Grand Prix, Schumacher admitted he would risk an incident with Montoya again at Sepang as he strives for a victory.

"The only thing I have to say is that it was a pretty strong move and next time I will have him off the track," Schumacher said.

"It was just a move that was based on me making space for him, which I did not, obviously because that early in the race I did not want to put our positions into danger on the basis of scoring as much as possible and getting the best out of the weekend.

"I just think that move was not the right thing to do."

Montoya had blamed Ralf for the Melbourne incident after the race, saying the German had tried to protect his line too late.

"It is sad because we could have both been out of the race," he said. "When your teammate is behind and quicker, just deal with it."

The German delivered his words steely faced and McLaren's David Coulthard, sitting alongside, could barely contain his amazement.

"Wow that's brilliant," he gasped. "Oh sorry, I just meant to think that. Go for it," he said.

Schumacher, who is still in discussions over his future beyond the current season at Williams, insisted he has a good relationship with Montoya, despite the Colombian departing for McLaren next season.

But the German claimed the latest disagreement between them comes from the fact both are born winners.

"To be honest, we have a reasonable relationship as teammates, that's not the thing," he added. "Sometimes we clearly do not agree on the circuit, which is normal because we both want to win. Otherwise I am concentrating on the team's problem at the moment, which is trying to find the gap, that on whatever my teammate does, to be honest.

"The only think I would add is that somebody brakes into a corner with the intention of either crashing into somebody or he gives you space then that is the wrong move, let's put it that way."