Williams hail unbeatable Ralf

Eponymous team boss Frank Williams has hailed Ralf Schumacher's N?rburgring victory as unbeatable and praised the Williams team work. Schumacher junior had a brilliant start at the European Grand Prix, beating brother Michael to the first corner to take second. Ralf then gained the lead when McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen tragically retired with a blown engine.

The podium: race winner Ralf Schumacher.

Photo by BMW PressClub.

"A great race," said Williams. "I thought it was a very good race, especially as it warmed up in the middle and it was a great victory for Ralf and we've overtaken Ron (Dennis, McLaren boss) in the championship, which is nice. I think we had a good tyre advantage, Ralf drove like a metronome, he was going to be unbeatable, unpassable, once he got the lead."

Williams was sympathetic to McLaren and Raikkonen, the Finn would surely have won if not for the engine failure. Frank was dubious that Ralf could have overtaken Raikkonen: "We are a few points ahead of Ron and he had a tough day. I am really sympathetic. Could we have beaten Raikkonen? I am by no means sure."

Ralf showed great aggression and determination, perhaps a reply to the criticism he faced after supposedly not having a try to overtake Michael in Canada. Teammate Juan Pablo Montoya tangled with Schumacher senior, the result being Michael stuck in the gravel and, controversially, having the marshals push him back on track.

Williams also paid tribute to the skill of the team mechanics and pit crew: "We have very creative engineering people and the race team do a brilliant job," he said. "The pit-stops are outstanding time after time. People who do their homework will find that in the last two years we have been fastest in the pit-lane more times than any other team, actually."

The team boss defended Monytoya's clash with Michael. Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn described the Colombian's driving as 'crude and lacking class'. Williams, quite rightly, pointed out it's racing, not a polite walk in the park: "I thought Juan Pablo's overtaking manoeuvre was the sort that we should see every race, every time," he said.

"That is the way it should be done, you know: 'watch out when Juan's about'. It's tough to call on Michael and I am not gloating, but few people sadly overtake where Juan Pablo ever dares to overtake. Television needs racing, a lot of racing, a lot of overtaking, not 'after you mate'."