The BMW WilliamsF1 Team confirmed that the team’s official test and reserve driver, Marc Gené, would replace Ralf Schumacher at this weekend’s French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours.

After a high speed accident at Indianapolis ten days ago, doctors have confirmed that Ralf Schumacher has sustained two fractures in his spinal column, and will require a recovery period of up to twelve weeks. It is not clear when Ralf will be fit to race again.

In the light of yesterday’s medical diagnosis, future decisions regarding driver nominations will be taken at a later date. Marc Gené, veteran of 34 GP starts has raced at Magny-Cours twice previously, and has completed 13,000km of testing in the FW26 so far this season.

“It is a shame that opportunities only come along when one of my colleagues has endured some kind of misadventure, but it is my job to make the best of such circumstances and ensure the team is not compromised by Ralf’s absence. I have raced at Magny-Cours before, and I have clocked up thousands of kilometres in the FW26, so hopefully this will provide the basis for a good performance in France this weekend.

Frank Williams commented, “I wish Ralf well for a full recovery, and I hope to see him back racing before the end of the season. In the meantime, we are fortunate to have a driver of Marc’s calibre to fill the void.”

BMW Motorsport Director, Mario Theissen said, “Of course we are very sorry for Ralf. Prior to his accident in Indianapolis, he had his best race of the season in Montréal. For the second half of the season we had so many ambitions to fight back, but now Ralf’s recovery is most important.“