Ralf may be dropped by WilliamsF1

It was reported on the BBC Sport web site that the WilliamsF1 team are considering dropping Ralf Schumacher at the end of this season, despite the fact that he has a contract which runs through to the end of the 2004 season..

It was reported that the team is losing patience with the German, with Ralf not been able to produce the performance expected of him. The team can not understand why Ralf is not able to consistently run at the front.

This has been brought to the front ever since Juan Pablo Montoya joined the team where Ralf now had a team-mate who could challenge him. It was also reported that the team is considering Giancarlo Fisichella to join Montoya in 2004. Fisichella has met team owner Frank Williams at Imola to discuss their respective positions.

It was previously reported that Ralf had been told to improve his performances in a letter that was sent to him, a fact that WilliamsF1 Technical Director Patrick Head denied later. The WilliamsF1 team has denied they were considering replacing Ralf .

And Ralf's response to this has been: "It's news to me. I am working on my future after 2004 and I'm talking to a number of teams. But my first choice is Williams and my contract goes to the end of 2004."

But history should show that the WilliamsF1 team do not back off from removing drivers from the team who they no longer consider to able to deliver. Damon Hill and Alex Zanardi both were dropped by the team. Hill after he won his championship and Alex even though he had one year of a contract to run.