DECEMBER 10, 2004

No early decision from Williams

There have been lot of rumours in recent days about Williams making an announcement about drivers, but our sources say that nothing is planned immediately and that it could be some weeks before anyone is nominated to be Mark Webber's partner in 2005. The team has tested German Nick Heidfeld but Antonio Pizzonia remains the favourite for the drive, even if the contract is apparently not signed. Heidfeld is expected to end up as the team's third driver, a move that will keep BMW happy, but there is still a small possibility that someone else could be involved. The only obvious candidate on the market - in whom Williams has expressed some interest - is F1 new boy Vitantonio Liuzzi, who has impressed everyone with his showings with Sauber and with Red Bull Racing.

The Red Bull Racing tests have gone very well but it seems that the current aim is to run David Coulthard and an Austrian: Christian Klien or perhaps Alexander Wurz - and that would mean that the team could only offer Liuzzi a testing deal. He is understood to be of the opinion that he has done enough to show that he is ready for F1 and is not interested in a test drive unless it will lead to something more concrete in the longer term. If Red Bull does decide to go with an Austrian in the second car, Liuzzi will be on the market and while Jordan would love to have him, it is possible that Williams might also like to give him a test. BAR is also thought to be sniffing around, despite the fact that it has a full complement of drivers at the moment.