SEPTEMBER 3, 2003

Ralf's accident

Ralf Schumacher had a sizeable crash yesterday in the closing minutes of the first day of testing at Monza when his BMW Williams went out of control in the Lesmo Corner and went into the barriers backwards at some considerable speed. The car then rebounded and flipped over. The cause of the accident is not known. Ralf was taken to the Ospedale San Raffaele in Milan for precautionary checks although there were no signs of any injury at the track.

Williams was busy doing a series of tests on its Michelin tires to see how they wear and whether the contact patch of the front tires is more than the allowed width. Once it has been established whether or not this is going to be a problem at the Italian GP Michelin will decide whether or not to build new tires which are slightly narrower than the existing rubber. It is believed that Williams is the only team affected by the ruling.