Ralf denies Toyota claims

By Andrew Hooper
April 2 2004

   
Ralf denies Toyota claims
 
Previously it was reported that Ralf Schumacher was to move to the Toyota team commencing in 2005. This claim has now been denied by Ralf's manager Willi Weber. Weber made it clear that the negotiations between Ralf and the WilliamsF1 team were still open and if necessary a decision may not be made until September.

Willi WeberWeber said: "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. 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."

As for whether he had approached other teams Weber did admit that he had had talks with Renault. Weber added: "I spoke to (Renault boss) Flavio (Briatore) but only casually and I have not spoken to Toyota seriously at all. I have looked at the alternatives, of course, but only casually as we still hope Williams will work out."

Ralf commented on the issue of his on-going contract negotiations by saying: "Everybody must be bored because Ferrari keep winning, that's why there is a lot of talk about my contract.

"I don't think there will be a decision made after Bahrain. The talks will go on a bit longer still. We are still negotiating and both sides know what they want.

"I am not in any rush to get this sorted out. I don't think it will affect me concentrating on the world championship.''
 
 
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