Ralf Schumacher's Comeback Delayed

Ralf Schumacher will not make his Formula One return at next week's Hungarian Grand Prix as he has still not recovered from the spinal injuries he sustained in June, according to Germany's Bild newspaper.

In an article due to appear in Thursday's edition, the paper said the season's next race on August 15 had come too early for Schumacher and it was doubtful that he would be fit for the following race, the Belgian Grand Prix on August 29.

The younger Schumacher suffered two spinal fractures at the U.S. Grand Prix in Indianapolis on June 20.

"Ralf's bone thickness was measured and it was established that the two broken vertebrae were not yet as hardened as is normally the case," Schumacher's manager Willi Weber told the newspaper.

"Another accident like the one in Indianapolis and Ralf could be made a paraplegic. Nobody could accept that."

Schumacher himself was disappointed but philosophical. "I feel good but it's no doubt better for me to listen to the doctors," he said.

Bild said Schumacher's Williams team would announce on Friday who would stand in for the 29 year-old.

It said Antonio Pizzonia, the Brazilian who took seventh place when he stood in for Schumacher in the German Grand Prix last month, would probably keep his spot.