Testing a key factor says Ralf

After the winter break since the final race of 2003, testing resumes in the last week of November and Ralf Schumacher thinks it is crucial for next season. Williams was beaten by Ferrari to the Constructors' title this year but Schumacher Junior's team gave the Scuderia a run for its money. After the progress made last year, Ralf is keen to keep improving next season.

"You should always look ahead," he said, according to the BMW website. "Currently we are in a promising position and I want it to stay like this. Successful testing in the coming four or five weeks will be a key factor concerning the development of our new WilliamsF1 BMW FW26."

"Next year we want to be able to fight for top positions right from the start, so we need to be already in January or February at a level of competitiveness we had reached only in the middle of the 2003 season."

Williams did not have the best start to 2003 but by mid-season the team was picking up the pace and leading the Constructors' standings after the Hungarian GP. "With hindsight it has been an extraordinary season," said Ralf.

"At the beginning we were lucky that there were several teams suffering from a poor start. Ferrari made many mistakes and McLaren -- who were really strong -- made also mistakes."

Testing starts in Spain on November 25th, with Jerez, Valencia and Barcelona the venues for the first three-day programme.

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