Williams tell drivers to copy Schu style
Team bosses have told the two drivers to match the standards set by Ferrari's five-time world champion Michael Schumacher on and off the track.
But Montoya and Schumacher Jnr immediately hit back at the launch of their 2003 challenger in Barcelona yesterday by insisting they will beat the defending champion when the team gives them a fast enough car.
"I do not understand what all this is about Michael," fumed Montoya after helping unveil the FW25 at the
Circuit de Catalunya. "If we had the car he had we could win the championship as well.
"You hear it every five minutes that you need to do the things the way Michael does it because Michael wins. Michael wins because he has got the car with which to win and we don't. Hopefully we have got the car this year that can win."
Montoya has seen all the senior members of the Williams-BMW team over the winter after the Colombian was told he needed to match Schumacher's single-minded attitude if he wanted to fulfil his talent.
"Juan has got to respect the challenge around him and react accordingly," said team principal Sir Frank Williams. "That is the bridge, the gulf he has to cross but he has to work that out himself."
BMW's motor sport boss Gerhard Berger said: "Juan is one of the most talented drivers I have ever seen. His car control is brilliant, his overtaking is brilliant. On the driving side he is the same level as Michael.
"For him it is a question of how every weekend he can get the best out of the car, that is where he is lacking a bit in experience, so maybe he has to work hard on this area."
But the team believe Montoya and Schumacher have to become more involved this season if Williams who won just one race after starting last season amid high optimism are to close the gap on Ferrari.
"It is amazing what difference a driver can make to a team in terms of motivation, from mechanics and designers all the way through the factory," said chief operations engineer Sam Michael.
"That's the difference between our two drivers and the baseline which is Michael Schumacher. You hear stories of Michael phoning up Jean Todt (Ferrari's sporting director) at 10 o'clock at night to find out what springs Luca Badoer had on the car because he had been looking at the data back home.
"Out guys just do not do that, but it is so tight at the front now you have to do it. If a driver is informed enough to make his contribution like Michael does it makes a difference.
"They have to step up to the mark and have a close look at how they do that.
"They have improved over the last couple of years and got better but they need to take a quantum leap.
"You can't just sit back and say its all down to the designers to get the fastest out of the car."
But Michael's comments received short shrift from Ralf Schumacher, who scored the team's solitary success in Malaysia last year.
"It is a bit unfair from the team point of view to make a fuss about drivers in certain other teams," said Schumacher of the comparisons with his older brother.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
