AUGUST 3, 2009

Williams says no to Schumacher test

Williams F1 says that it will not agree to let Michael Schumacher test a current Ferrari before his return to Grand Prix racing in Valencia.

Williams F1 says that it will not agree to let Michael Schumacher test a current Ferrari before his return to Grand Prix racing in Valencia. The team said that it was not fair to allow Michael to test and not allow other drivers, such as Jaime Alguersuari have the chance to test before they raced. Ferrari asked all the teams to agree to the test and the FOTA teams seem to have accepted the idea but Williams said that there was no reason why Michael should have any special dispensation.

"While we welcome Michael Schumacher back to Formula 1," the team said. "The fact is any form of in-season circuit testing is strictly prohibited, a regulation clearly laid out by the FIA and adhered to by all of the teams. It was for this reason Alguersuari, who drove an F1 car for the first time in Hungary, did not have the opportunity to familiarise himself with the Toro Rosso before he made his race debut. Williams sees no distinction between Alguersuari's situation and Schumacher's and feels any deviation from the rule would create a precedent for the future. For the sake of consistency and fairness, therefore, we oppose Ferrari's proposal to test ahead of the European Grand Prix."