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Picture Ralf;s return - not a great success (Getty Images)

NO APPLAUSE FOR RALF'S MUTED RETURN

By Tony Jardine

I don't really think it was a worthwhile exercise for Williams to bring Ralf Schumacher back in China.

For the purposes of continuity it would have been better to stick with Antonio Pizzonia for the last three races.

He had driven very well in Belgium and he was lying in third place when his gearbox broke.

Now you have Ralf back and I personally think the team would have preferred not to have Ralf back.

But contractually they were obliged to have him back once he was declared fit again.

But up until that time, they could use the excuse he's not fully right and we didn't want to risk anything.

Having said that if you take the weight of medical opinion, some experts said that he shouldn't have come back anyway.

He had cracked two vertebrae and had two consecutive concussions on separate years.

And you know that if you have another big accdent like that, it could case permanent damage.

The medical people were being very very careful on behalf of Ralf Schumacher.

But the third factor is why would you want to bring back a driver who's leaving the team anyway?

You then reveal all your latest technical developments so he can go down the road to Toyota and tell them BMW have just done this and Williams have said why don't we do this, that and the other.

He has been out for three months and missed six races and he himself said he'd noticed so much difference.

The cars have moved on technologically speaking since he last drove.

Now that's just in three months. The car is more driveable, it's got more downforce and you bet he's taking all those ideas to Toyota but you cannot do anything about it.

  • Tony Jardine was talking to Stephen Joyce.

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