F1: Williams boss Frank Williams has insisted ahead of this weekend's British Grand Prix that Ralf Schumacher is not overawed by his five-time world champion brother Michael and would deny the Ferrari driver a sixth title without a second's thought.
The younger Schumacher was roundly criticised following last month's Canadian Grand Prix, where he appeared to baulk at the opportunity to pass his brother while racing in second, with some of the barbs emanating from his own team, where technical director Patrick Head claimed that Schumacher's team-mate Juan Pablo Montoya would not have hesitated in attempting to pass the Ferrari.
Team boss Williams, however, has insisted that the younger Schumacher has dispelled the accusations with a brace of wins in the last two grands prix and can challenge for this year's Formula One drivers' title.
"I am not trying to suggest Ralf is as remarkable as his brother," said Williams. "Michael is a man who appears never to switch off Formula One. What I am saying is that I don't believe Ralf is overawed by his brother.
"He respects and admires Michael, as we all do, but if he is in a position to prevent Michael's record sixth title by winning it himself, he will do so without a second's thought."
Williams also said that his 28-year-old German driver has shaken off the inconsistency that dogged the early part of his career.
"There's no denying that Ralf has been guilty of occasional inconsistency, but he is capable of enormous speed. He is becoming very experienced and has a good understanding of the car. He has made mistakes but he's a talented driver and is competing with the self-confidence that a couple of straight wins generate."
Williams also cited the presence of Montoya at Williams as another reason for Schumacher's re-emergence as a competitive force: "He is also responding to the challenge of having an extremely competitive team-mate. They are drawing the best from each other, which is exactly what we hoped for."
The younger Schumacher goes into this weekend with back-to-back wins at Nurburgring and Magny-Cours and has leapt to within 11 points of his championship-leading brother, and with the Williams FW25 and its Michelin tyres looking ever more competitive, Ralf's chances of narrowing his brother's lead look ever brighter, certainly brighter than the Silverstone weather, which yesterday saw a return of the miserable conditions that dogged the 2001 event.
And with the sport's power-brokers already hinting heavily that Silverstone is far from secure on the calendar, bad weekend weather will do the circuit few favours.
Just across the road from the circuit, however, the mood was sunnier, as Jordan celebrated the signing of a new "multi-million" sponsorship deal with technology company Tiger Telematics for this weekend, with the company committing for a full season in 2004.
The company manufacturers a product called the Gametec, a pocket-sized device offering SMS text capability, games and GPS tracking aimed at children. It enables parents to monitor the whereabouts of their children at all times.
The deal is crucial to Jordan. The company has not signed a sponsorship programme with a new client in more than a year - with any new branding on the EJ13 car being personal deals brought by Giancarlo Fisichella - and the team has been struggling financially.
Jordan's deal is still small beer in the context of the sponsors being brought into the sport by the major powers in the paddock. Williams yesterday announced a five-year, $50-million deal with Budweiser brewers Anheuser-Busch, a financial cushion of a kind Eddie Jordan can these days only dream of.
