Sir Frank says don't write us off

The Willliams team cancelled scheduled press conferences on Friday afternoon to concentrate on set-up and development work with its tyre supplier Michelin, after its driver duo of Ralf Schumacher and team mate Juan Pablo Montoya finished eighth and 17th at the end of Friday's free practice sessions.

Schumacher Jr has been fighting for the lead in recent races, but the German was 1.3 seconds off the time of Friday's fastest man McLaren's Mika Hakkinen.

Silverstone has been plagued by changing conditions since Thursday, - Friday had sunshine, winds and rain - and the Michelin-shod Williams-BMW is not known for its competitiveness in cooler temperatures.

World champion Michael Schumacher has already ruled them out of the hunt for victory on the evidence of the first day's action.

"It may be the case that the weather will not be ideal for us, but our tyres have performed very well in the wet," said Williams, whose team sits third in the constructors' championship 13 points behind McLaren.

"I really can't predict what is going to happen and whether we will be good in the wet or not. We haven't tested here in the wet, but if it rains for qualifying then we will know, but I am not frightened of the rain."

Williams added, however, that there has been little improvement on the reliability front. The team has suffered a number of mechanical failures this season with driver Juan Pablo Montoya's engine most recently blowing in Magny Cours two weeks ago.

"The reliability is only as good as the last race," he continued. "It has not improved greatly. It is all very much to do with the design and engineering, so we will have to wait and see."