Williams the Main Threat, Says Todt

Ferrari boss Jean Todt believes Williams-BMW are their main rivals in the World Championship - but claimed that his team have gained the upper hand after beating their rivals on home soil in the British Grand Prix.

Williams had taken two consecutive one-two finishes in the European and French Grands Prix but saw Colombian driver Juan Pablo Montoya finish five seconds behind victorious Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello at Silverstone.

"It's quite pleasing and rewarding to see that Ferrari have such unexpected domination on a circuit which is the home circuit of our main competitors," said Todt. "But I think it was confirmed that our biggest rival is probably Williams.

"In the last five races Williams have scored 73 points - 40 for Montoya, 33 for Ralf - and I think the others scored 32 points."

McLaren had set the early pace this season with victories for Scot David Coulthard and Finn Kimi Raikkonen in the first two races of the season but they have failed to win again in recent Grands Prix as the introduction of their new car continues to be delayed.

Raikkonen is still World Champion Michael Schumacher's closest challenger in the drivers' title race - seven points behind in second place - but Todt believes the Williams drivers will continue the chase.

Ferrari undertook a major four-car test before the British Grand Prix in a bid to get back on track before the six-week testing break that leaves all teams without development time for the next two races.

But Todt believes even that may not be enough to keep Williams at bay and said: "In two weeks you don't change the face of the world. You must not think that. I think it will still be tough but we have a good potential.

"It was very important to score a good result here because since a few races, the tendency was going against us, so it was important to stop this and what is also very important is the potential of what we can see for the next races."