Ralf: We shouldn't be racing

Indianapolis boss Tony George and Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone have said the USGP must go ahead. But Schumacher Jr even questioned the wisdom of staging the 15th round at Monza this weekend.

"It is a bad joke intending going to the US and racing there," he said shortly after arriving in the Monza paddock. "I don't think it is safe and I, for sure, will not take my family and friends."

And the young German even challenged Ecclestone, who misses a handful of races every year while working elsewhere, to show up in Indianapolis.

"Bernie is recommending we should race there," said Schumacher. "I will be anxious to see if he turns up. We shouldn't even be here."

Jaguar Racing's American owner Ford is contemplating pulling out of the US race as the sport rocks from the effects of Tuesday's disaster.

Ralf's brother Michael summed up the general mood in Monza; "It is pretty difficult to find the right expression for what has happened," he said. "What we feel is pretty much the same and our sympathy is naturally with them - and we support them as much as we can.

"It's a tough time, but we have to look forward and hope things improve for the better, and we keep learning and improving things to prevent this from happening again."

Publicly, most of the grid have said that the Grand Prix should go ahead, but the effects the terrorist attack have been felt up and down the paddock. Sponsors from most of the teams are involved in one way or another, including Worldcom and Allianz of Williams, HSBC and Ford at Jaguar, Credit Suisse of Sauber and Sun Micro Systems at McLaren.

Benetton's under-pressure ace Jenson Button described his sense of astonishment. "It's sick, disgusting what happened," he said. "I was in the gym with my girlfriend and saw it on TV. It just didn't seem real, more like a film, a horror show."