Monza, Sep 03: Team BMW Williams are putting all their energy to prepare for the 2003 Championship battle finale. BMW Williams are presently leading the Constructors' Championship, 8 points in front of rival Ferrari team, while Juan Pablo Montoya is currently second in the Drivers' Championship, only one point behind Michael Schumacher.
The team started their private testing programme today like most of the F1 teams at Monza, with both regular drivers Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya. Ralf completed a total of 62 laps with a best time of 1'22"416 while Juan Pablo managed to do 88 laps, his fastest one in 1'23"163. "We commenced our three day test at Monza today with Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya sharing testing duties in the FW25," explained Tim Newton, Test Team Manager at BMW Williams on the team's official web site. "Our objectives involved set up preparation for the forthcoming race here as well as tyre testing for Michelin and some brake investigation work."
"Ralf suffered an accident at the end of the afternoon session, when he spun off the circuit at one of the Lesmo corners, and is currently undergoing precautionary medical checks,' added Newton. "The cause of the accident is not yet known but is under investigation."


Bureau Report