JUNE 12, 2000

Ralf confident that he will race in Canada

RALF SCHUMACHER will not decide until the last minute whether or not he will be fit to race in the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal. The BMW Williams F1 driver suffered a nasty cut to his leg in an accident at the Monaco Grand Prix and needed hospital treatment. The wound is now healing although Ralf has been in some pain in recent days.

Schumacher visited the Princess Grace Hospital in Monte Carlo during the week to check that the cut was clean and there were nothing in the wound which might cause infection. He then flew to Cologne where he visited a specialist to see what could be done to speed up the healing process. We hear that the healing is going well and that Ralf is confident that he will be able to drive in Montreal but only so much can be done in the time available and, if the injury is not sufficiently healed, Schumacher is risking doing more damage which could keep him out of more races. As a result a final decision as to whether Schumacher will race will not be taken until Thursday.

Ralf was due to leave for Canada on Monday and the BMW Williams test driver Bruno Junqueira will also be travelling to Montreal on that day so that he will be available and properly acclimatized in case he is needed for the race weekend in Canada.

Junqueira stood in for Schumacher at last week's F1 testing at Monza and set some good times although he was not able to match Jenson Button in qualifying trim. If Schumacher is not fit to race Junqueira will make his F1 debut with the team.