Ralf plays down rivalry with Montoya

Schumacher's view rides against widespread opinion that the Williams squad possesses the most explosive driver rivalry in F1. Despite winning three grands prix last year, Ralf was out-qualified in the final races of 2001 as Montoya took his maiden victory.

However, speaking in the latest issue of AUTOSPORT's sister magazine, F1 Racing, Ralf has refuted claims that he does not see eye to eye with his team mate and that the pair only talk to one another through their engineers.

"That's not right," said Ralf. "If I look back through the season we had a good year and we had a good relationship. We talk very openly about what we're doing, we speak about problems we may have had and we ask each other questions.

"Inside the engineers' room we get along well - in fact I must say we get on really well. In terms of that relationship, Juan has been one of the best team mates I can remember."

The Williams outfit's stance on team orders has always been to let its drivers get on with racing. Despite claims from Schuey Jr last year that any championship challenge for 2002 could be compromised by not having orders, the 26-year-old believes his rivalry with Montoya can only be good for the team.

"To put it simply, he wants to beat me and I want to beat him," Schumacher added. "For him there is nothing nicer than to beat me and he doesn't make any big deal out of it. That's the way he tells it and I think that's fine. It's a healthy rivalry within the team."

Stand alone pool quote: "Juan has been one of the best team mates I can remember."