Theissen says Ralf to return

Paddock rumour has indicated recently that the German, who has signed a three-year deal to race for Toyota from 2005, could be replaced permanently either by one of Williams's test drivers (Marc Gene or Antonio Pizzonia) or even perhaps by Jordan driver Nick Heidfeld who will test for Williams at Jerez later this week.

"In the past years, Ralf has contributed far more to the development of the car, and thus to our successes, than you can realise if you aren't a team insider," said Theissen. "I am convinced that Ralf will work for us and remain as motivated when he has recovered and is ready to return behind the wheel.

"He will be keen on using any possible chance to prove that he has fully recovered from the Indianapolis accident. Basically, the situation is the same for both Ralf and Juan Pablo [Montoya]: drivers and team have the same goal, to achieve the best possible result at every Grand Prix weekend."

Theissen says he is not concerned that Schumacher may take valuable information with him when he leaves for Toyota and that it is no reason for him to quit Williams prematurely: "When it comes to the regularly mentioned issue of 'knowledge transfer' to another team, I don't see any risk for us.

"The drivers do know a lot about the handling of the car, but they haven't got detailed information on the technology. Furthermore, there is an effective solution for these kinds of problems: to develop faster than your competitors."

"In this case, the transferred knowledge will be already outdated before it can be used. Therefore, Juan Pablo [Montoya] and Ralf Schumacher will continue to develop the FW26 until the 2004 season is over. Concerning our developments for the 2005 season, the work of our test drivers Marc Gené and Antonio Pizzonia will be even more important than it has been in the past."