Montoya told to copy Schumacher

Twenty-five years on, Frank Williams and Patrick Head are still chasing prizes and, perhaps significantly, the new conference centre at their Oxfordshire factory has plenty of empty space in the trophy cabinet.

Williams-BMW, along with McLaren-Mercedes, are expected to present the threat to Michael Schumacher and Ferrari in the Formula One world championship, which begins in Australia on Sunday week.

Williams have, in Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya, two gifted drivers and yet it is the German's elder brother who remains the role model as well as the target for aspiring champions. Williams has advised Montoya, the ebullient Colombian in whom they clearly have great hopes, that he must learn to work as hard as Michael Schumacher off the track as well as on it.

Head, Williams's friend and partner this past quarter of a century, said: "With Michael it's not just his speed in the car, but his total commitment. He wants to see the data. He wants to know how to put things right.''

Much has been made of the preferential treatment Schumacher enjoys at Ferrari, but Head conceded that it makes sense to back a man who is seeking a record-equalling fifth championship. "If we had a driver who was head and shoulders above his team-mate we might take the same approach.''

Ralf Schumacher and Montoya are closely matched, but Williams and Head do not discourage in-house rivalry and believe that their drivers realise they have to work together. Head said: "The biggest battle is not with their team-mate, but the guy in the red car. We have to try to beat Ferrari over a season."

Williams will also monitor Jenson Button, who struggled last season, as they are entitled to recall him from Renault at the end of the year.