Williams get into gear with launch of 2004 challenger

Williams will begin the countdown to the new Formula One season in earnest today when they launch their 2004 challenger in Spain.

The FW26 will be unveiled in Valencia before Williams begin an intensive testing period as they look to finally topple Ferrari, having come so close in both championships last year.

Juan Pablo Montoya was favourite with just a couple of races left last year, but his and the BMW-powered team's challenge in the constructors' battle faltered when it mattered most.

The Colombian will be taking part in his fourth and final car unveiling for Williams, having already agreed to join McLaren-Mercedes in 2005 replacing Britain's David Coulthard.

Montoya, who eventually finished third in the championship, has insisted his departure at the end of next season will hurt his chances of ending Michael Schumacher's dominance of F1 in 2004.

Team-mate Ralf Schumacher will also be at the launch with talks continuing over his future with the Grove-based outfit.

The German could be using Montoya's departure as a way of boosting his reputed £12 million wage demands, though he insists the delay in agreeing a new deal is nothing to do with money.

"The real reasons are confidential," said Schumacher. "I would not expect anything to happen in the near future."

Schumacher finished in fifth place in the drivers' standings last season 24 points adrift of Montoya and has still to prove he can finally emerge from the shadow of his big brother.

The team recovered from a poor start when their car was likened to a tortoise by BMW mechanics to win four races in a fourth season with the German car giant.

If BMW can again produce one of the best engines on the grid then team chief Frank Williams could finally regain the constructors' crown for the first time since 1997.

McLaren, who started last season with a revamped 2002 car and continued with it after their new MP4-18 failed crash tests and was deemed too unreliable to race, have already got an MP4-19 on track.

They have no official launch plans but will continue testing in Jerez with Coulthard and Kimi Raikkonen, championship runner-up to Michael Schumacher, from January 11.

Coulthard's future has been given a good airing in the British press during the past week, with Wednesday's Sun newspaper printing a cross-eyed picture of the Scot over the headline "You'll be staring at the chop if you flop".

"David will have to drive well all season to give us a chance of finding him a competitive seat," warned his manager and television commentator Martin Brundle.

Toyota or Jaguar could be among the teams on Coulthard's list and their launches are on January 17 and 18 in Cologne and Barcelona respectively.

Toyota have both a new team principal, Tsutomo Tomita, and a highly-paid new technical director in Mike Gascoyne while Jaguar will be presenting Red Bull-backed Austrian rookie driver Christien Klein.

Jaguar's outstanding Australian driver Mark Webber can expect to again fend off questions about his prospects of replacing Montoya at Williams after being repeatedly linked to the team.

Sauber will present their new C23 at Salzburg airport in Austria on January 12 with new drivers Italian Giancarlo Fisichella and Brazilian Felipe Massa.

Renault, with Italian Flavio Briatore at the helm, take their new car to Palermo in Sicily for a picturesque launch on January 29.

Ferrari have yet to name a date for their launch, although sporting director Jean Todt said last month they aimed to present the new car in January, while BAR are aiming for the beginning of February in Barcelona.

That leaves Jordan, who have yet to sign any drivers and are not expected to do so until their sponsorship is sorted, and Minardi. If last year is anything to go by, they will launch as close to take off as possible.