Weber Confident of New Williams Deal for Ralf

Ralf Schumacher's manager Willi Weber on Thursday denied the German driver has agreed to sign for Toyota and insisted that talks with Williams-BMW over a new deal have not broken down.

Schumacher's contract is up at the end of the season and his wage demands have proved to a be a stumbling block is his bid to extend the deal beyond 2004. Weber had given Williams until this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix to finalise a deal, but said that talks are ongoing and will continue until September if necessary.

"We had a meeting in Malaysia and that gave us quite a positive signal, so there is no longer a deadline for a decision to be made here," said Weber. "We want to stay, Williams wants Ralf to stay, so we just have to concentrate on what we need to do.

"There are things that both sides want that we must work on. Obviously Ralf must win races and perform well. We still have time and for me a decision in Hungary or Monza even would be no problem."

Schumacher, the younger brother of World Champion Michael, has won six Grands Prix but has yet to match the success of his Ferrari-driving sibling. Williams want him to take a pay-cut from his current deal, and it was claimed the Toyota had offered him a contract worth £60 million to join them at the end of the season.

Weber has also had tentative talks with Renault as he keeps Schumacher's options open for a move away from Williams if their talks break down once again.

"I spoke to (Renault boss) Flavio (Briatore) but only casually and I have not spoken to Toyota seriously at all," Weber added. "I have looked at the alternatives, of course, but only casually as we still hope Williams will work out."