Ralf to Toyota in 2005

The announcement has finally put an end to moths of speculation regarding Ralf's future in Formula One.

The announcement from Toyota had Toyota's team principal Tsutomu Tomita comment on Ralf joining the team. He said: "It is with pleasure that we can announce Ralf as one of Toyota's race drivers for the 2005 season. He has proven himself to be an extremely quick racing driver in his career, and I am sure that his vast experience will be extremely beneficial to our team.

"We have not finalised who will partner Ralf in 2005, and this is something we are in no rush to decide on. We are happy with the job that Cristiano [da Matta] and Olivier [Panis] are doing for us and both of them are under consideration for the remaining race seat next season. There are still 8 races of the season to go and everyone at Toyota is fully focussed on improving our level of performance to gain as many championship points as we can."

After the announcement by Toyota WilliamsF1 team management were to give Ralf their best wishes and thank him for the contribution that he has made to the BMW WilliamsF1 team.

In a statement Frank Williams said: "Ralf has made a steadfast contribution to the team over the past five years, with some truly spectacular high points. We fully respect his decision to pursue his future career with another team, and we wish him well in his new endeavours."

Mario Theissen, BMW's Motorsport Director, added: "Continuity is of course a factor for success in the fast business of Formula One. This is also true for the driver line-up. But, by the end of 2004, Ralf Schumacher will have been at WilliamsF1 for six years. It is therefore quite normal for a driver to think about a change.

"Following long and intensive negotiations between Frank Williams and Ralf Schumacher, both sides have decided not to renew the contract for the period after 2004. If both sides seek a new challenge, it should understandably be taken. We were kept informed about the negotiations throughout."

With Ralf's move to Toyota the BMW WilliamsF1 team are now faced with having to replace both their drivers for the 2005 Formula One season. Williams said, however, they were in no hurry to make a decision on their line up.