Williams confirms Gen? to replace Ralf - in France

Following the shocking news that Ralf Schumacher had suffered more serious injuries than originally feared following his Indianapolis shunt, the BMW WilliamsF1 team has finally confirmed that test and reserve driver Marc Gen? will replace the German at this weekend's French Grand Prix.

Doctors have confirmed that Schumacher sustained two spinal fractures in his impact with the wall during the USGP two weekends ago, and will require a recovery period of up to twelve weeks. It is not clear when the German will be fit to race again, and it may be that he sits out the rest of the season - effectively his last with Williams-BMW.

"I wish Ralf well for a full recovery, and I hope to see him back racing before the end of the season," team boss Frank Williams commented in a prepared statement, "In the meantime, we are fortunate to have a driver of Marc's calibre to fill the void."

Gen?, who replaced Schumacher following the German's concussion at last year's Italian Grand Prix, is a veteran of 34 F1 starts and raced twice at Magny-Cours during his time with Minardi. This season, the Spaniard has completed around 13,000km of testing in the FW26, and will be familiar with its traits ahead of his outing in France.

"It is a shame that opportunities only come along when one of my colleagues has endured some kind of misadventure, but it is my job to make the best of such circumstances and ensure the team is not compromised by Ralf's absence," Gene, somewhat frustrated by his testing role, admitted, "I have raced at Magny-Cours before, and I have clocked up thousands of kilometres in the FW26, so hopefully this will provide the basis for a good performance in France this weekend."

Interestingly, yesterday's medical diagnosis led to Williams stopping short of making long-term decisions regarding driver nominations, suggesting that Gene will only be a stop-gap solution for Magny-Cours and, given its proximity on the timetable, Silverstone. Beyond that, the rumour mill will kick in again, with Jacques Villeneuve, Mark Webber and Anthony Davidson likely to head the list of possible candidates to partner Juan Montoya.