Drivers prepare for testing

Winter testing kicks off at the end of this month and there's a few drivers getting ready to try out new cockpits. Ralf Schumacher will soon get behind the wheel of a Toyota for the first time, but as he is contracted to Williams until the end of this year, he will test in plain white overalls.

"I am already very excited," he said of his impending work for Toyota at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya. "There is potential in the team and the car, which motivates me to work hard at this new challenge."

Along with Anthony Davidson, Nick Heidfeld will test for Williams; Davidson is scheduled from December 1st and Heidfeld from December 9th. Meanwhile, with the sale of Jaguar to Red Bull, Christian Klien and F3000 champion Vitantonio Liuzzi are to test with the team at Barcelona.

Red Bull sponsors both drivers but Klien is not banking on that guaranteeing him a drive in 2005. "For my personal future it is still too early to say something definite though, since my future has never been, and is not, linked to Red Bull buying Jaguar. Dietrich Mateschitz did not buy Jaguar so that I have a seat in a Formula One car next year," he said.

"There will be F1 tests from November 24th in Barcelona and then I hope to know a lot more about my future. My chances are better now, of course, than they were a couple of weeks ago, but still nothing is definite at this stage."

The team will now be Red Bull Racing and will test in an interim blue and silver livery, the colours of the energy drink branding. Mateschitz has been quoted as saying that it would make sense for Klien to have another year in F1.

However, Tony Purnell, who will remain as team principal, is not rushing into any driver decisions. David Coulthard has been linked with the team but although Purnell acknowledges the Scot, there's a more than a few drivers looking for a chance.

"I'm sure we will put him on the consideration list," Purnell said about Coulthard. "But I don't want to go into driver speculation. No decisions have been made but over the coming weeks we will be testing a few drivers."