Ralf says Williams favours Montoya...

After taking the upper hand over Montoya for the first half of the season, Schumacher Jr was put under increasing pressure towards the end of the year as he was consistently out-qualified and out-raced by his team mate.

Following calls in October for team orders in his favour for next year, Ralf has added the fact that he thinks Sir Frank is closer to Montoya.

"I don't know exactly why, but Frank and Montoya are closer," Ralf told German newspaper Motorsport Aktuell. "Frank loves Juan. But that hasn't detracted from the atmosphere on the team. Montoya was new to us last season. Perhaps that's why he is enjoying more attention."

However, Schumacher, who finished 18 points ahead of Montoya in the end of year standings, was also quick to point out that the pair have not come together on the track and that they will be working together for a common goal in 2002 - to put Williams out in front.

"The rivalry between Juan and me has not yet resulted in a collision," Schumacher added. "We have the same goal in front of us. We want to bring the team forward."