AUGUST 3, 2003

A chance for Marc Gene?

Williams has announced its intention to appeal the decisions of the stewards of the German Grand Prix to penalize Ralf Schumacher 10 places on the grid at the next race in Hungary in three weeks from now. Hungary is a track where overtaking has always been difficult and the best Ralf Schumacher could hope for would be 11th on the grid and that would mean a very limited chance of scoring points. This is unfortunate for Ralf but potentially disastrous for the team in its battle for the Constructors' title.

The only time that a driver has had a similar penalty resulted in Felipe Massa being dropped by Sauber for the race in which his penalty was due to take place. It is therefore logical that Williams might take the decision if the appeal fails to put its test driver Marc Gene into the second car, in order to keep up the pressure on Ferrari in the Constructors' Championship.