JUNE 5, 2000

Will Ralf Schumacher be in Montreal?

BMW WILLIAMS F1 driver Ralf Schumacher crashed heavily while running fourth in the Monaco Grand Prix this weekend and the German youngster may have to miss the forthcoming Canadian Grand Prix. Schumacher suffered a deep cut, three inches long, on his left calf. He was taken to the Princess Grace Hospital in Monte Carlo for treatment. Fortunately no bones were broken and the gash was vertical and so potential muscle damage is limited. However, Schumacher was clearly in pain after the crash and even with stitches it is going to be more than 10 days before the wound is properly healed. It will mean that if he does try to race in Canada he is going to be in pain and could do himself more damage if he decides to race rather than allowing the injury to heal properly.

If Schumacher decides to miss the event it might provide the team with the possibility to try out Juan-Pablo Montoya alongside Jenson Button. However this is not very likely to happen as Montoya is due to race in the Detroit Grand Prix which clashes with the race in Canada and it is hard to imagine that Target Chip Ganassi Racing would agree to let Montoya go for a one-off with Williams. The team is also unlikely to give Montoya a run until he has had a proper test in the car and that would have to begin on Tuesday this week at Monza. The team had decided on Sunday night that the test would be done by Jenson Button and the team's test driver Bruno Junqueira and so if there has to be a substitution it would be Junqueira who gets the drive rather than Montoya.