Pizzonia to land 2nd Williams Seat

Williams F1 team boss Sir Frank Williams has told Eurosport.com in an exclusive interview that current test driver Antonio Pizzonia is the 'most likely occupant' for the seat alongside Mark Webber next season despite Nick Heidfeld and Anthony Davidson testing with the team at Barcelona next week. Germany's Nick Heidfeld and Britain's Anthony Davidson were reported to be in a shoot-out for the second seat alongside Mark Webber, but Sir Frank Williams has admitted that the tests were pre-arranged and that he would prefer an experienced driver next season. It is not as straight forward as that," Williams responded when asked if Heidfeld and Davidson were the favorites for the seat. "We are testing the two new drivers subject to contract. "Grand Prix cars are very expensive to operate so you don't want your driver to be on a learning curve," he adds. We are looking for effective results each and every time that the driver will run the car, and each punch must count. "We would prefer an experienced driver." When pressed further on the question of the second driver, Williams declined comment on talk of David Coulthard possibly joining the team, but admitted that current test driver Antonio Pizzonia was the favorite. "We consider that our current test driver Antonio Pizzonia is the most likely occupant of the second seat," he said, "but it's not a foregone conclusion." [Editor's Note: We have updated our 2005 F1 Silly Season page]