Although the last two races on North American soil ꦚdid not produce any points for the BMW WilliamsF1 Team, the teams on track performance demonstrated a significant improvement in terms of the FW26's competitiveness.

In preparation for the next round of back-to-backs at Magny-Cours and at Silverstone, WilliamsF1's ho🗹me Grand Prix, the team has been testing new components at Jerez, developments, which wi🌊ll be brought to Magny-Cours.

Two 🔜demonstrably upgraded FW26's will therefo🍒re be lining up on next weekend's grid.

"After two disappointing races in North America, where the car was competitive but we didn't score points for various reasons, we are looking forward to going to Magny-Cours," commented technical director, Sam Michael. "For Magny-Cours, we will have several aerodynamic im💙provements on the car, part of our on-going development programme to enhance the performance of the FW26. We have also made some mechanical changes, which should improve our competitiveness, particularly around this type of circuit.

"The track at Magny-Cours includes a 🏅high speed section, two high speed chicanes and a couple of slow and medium speed corners. Traditionally, it is a very smooth circuit, which was changed 🍰last year to extend the last sector before the pitlane. Strategy should be fairly straightforward due to the length of the pitlane and the typical tyre degradation that we see at Magny-Cours."

Following his accident at last weekend's United States Grand Prix, Ralf Schumacher is recup🙈erating at𒁃 his home in Austria. A decision will be taken early next week regarding his condition and whether he will be fit enough to compete in the French Grand Prix.

"As it's only been four days since I was released from hospital following the accident i🎐n Indianapolis, I can not, at this stage, make a decision as to whether I will take part in next weekend's race in Magny-Cours," he no🐼ted.

"I am taking full advantage of the two-week break between Indy and France to rest and recuperate from the accident. When the time coಞmes to make the decision, I will be guided by Professor Sid Watkins' advice and speak to Frank Williams about the best course of action."

Juan Montoya meanwhile also had a frustrating time at Indianapolis, the Colombian eve🐟ntually black-flagged towards the end of the race, after a rule infringement at the start of the event, prior to him sw♈itching to the spare car.

"I think t✤he US Grand Prix is cursed for me," noted JPM. "Last year in Indy I lost any chance of winning the Drivers' Championship and this year... well, you know!

"It was disappointing not to have scored any points in Indy, as we really needed them. However, we are now faciꦡng another two back-to-back races and I am confident we can finally get it right at Magny-Cours and at Silverstone.

"The French Grand Prix marks the start of the second half of the Championship but there are still plenty of points to collect. It is important to al🍸ways look ahead in this business. In 2003, Ralf and I qualified first and second respectively at Magny- Cours, and we crossed the line in first and second. This might be difficult to achieve again this year, but we know we usually perform well at this track. We are also taking some new parts out to France, which should make the car more competitive. We must now return to form and make up for the points we've lost as a result of factors unrelated✤ to our track performance."

Last year's race at the Circuit de Nevers saw the BMW WilliamsF1 Team continue their run of mid-season success. Having locked out the front row of the grid in qualifying, both drivers drove a flawless race, maintaining their grid༺ positions to bring ♈home a second successive one-two victory for the team.

Mario Theissen, BM🐬W motorsport director, summed up: "There's no doubt that the events of the two flyaway races, Ralf'🍷s accident in particular, have placed a strain on the whole team.

"However, despite the negative races in Montreal and Indy, our actual track performance displayed signs of improvement. Ralf's pole position in Montreal, and the performance of both drivers in both races, reflects that. Magny-Cours will make only fairly average demands on the BMW P84 engine, but we still need to ensure full reliability. We've hadꦫ some hot races in France in the past which places additional pressure on the thermal resistance of the engine, however, despite such condღitions, the target must be to take full advantage of the P84's power and rev potential."