Season 2007 - Ralf Schumacher's days with Toyota seem to
be numbered after his employers revealed they are considering other
options for next season.
After his 16th-placed finish at last weekend's Monaco Grand Prix,
Toyota team president John Howett is looking for a possible
successor to the 31-year-old brother of seven-times world champion
Michael.
In his three years with Toyota, Schumacher, who earns 17 million
euros a year, has only finished in the top three on three
occasions.
So far Schumacher has picked up just one point in five races and is
in joint thirteenth position in the drivers championship table with
his contract set to expire at the end of the season. "We are
looking at the market," Howett told Bild.
Schumacher is driving for his Formula One career and the pressure
is on to prove himself at the next two races in Montreal, on June
10, and Indianapolis, June 17.
"Ralf has got himself into a downward-sprial. He must find some
speed as quickly as possible, because his position at Toyota is
becoming dangerous," 58-year-old three-times world champion Niki
Lauda told Bild.
Since their Formula One debut in 2002, Toyota are still waiting for
a Grand Prix victory and their 400 million euro budget is the
biggest of the 11 competing teams.
After the first five races, Toyota are sixth place in the
designer's world championship with just five points - even
Williams, with Toyota engines, are two points higher.
In the drivers' championship, Schumacher's team-mate Italian Jarno
Trulli joint ninth with four points, four points higher than the
German.
But after his poor performance in Monaco, Schumacher says he is
looking forward to bouncing back at the Canadian GP in
Montreal.
"Monaco is a one-off and I think thats how you have to treat it,"
said Schumacher in an interview on the Formula One website.
"The team has scored points in each of the first three races and we
are all working hard to make progress.
"Montreal, the venue for the Canadian GP in a fortnight, is a
totally different kind of circuit. The car should be better suited
to the track. Lets hope so.
"Montreal is also a place I like going, with a good ambiance around
the race and I will be doing my best to get a strong result for the
team."
