JUNE 14, 2004

Some consolation for Williams

It is fair to say that the exclusion of the two BMW Williams from the results in Canada is a massive blow to Williams's World Championship ambitions in 2004 because it increases the gap between the team and BAR-Honda to 16 points. However there is one very positive side-effect of the change: Jordan had vaulted up the Constructors' Championship and that means that Jaguar Racing is now ninth in the order and has very little chance of moving up to sixth in the next couple of weeks. Jaguar needs to do this in order to meet the terms of the performance clause in Mark Webber's contract for next year. McLaren's gain in Canada lifts the target for sixth in the Constructors' from seven points to 12 and as Jaguar has only three it must score a victory at Indianapolis if it is to be sixth before July 1, which is believed to be the date when Webber's performance clause is applied.

A short-term loss for Williams may be a long-term gain.