Williams Would Agree with 3rd Car Per Team, Only for Rookies

Third car per team in Formula One might not be such a long shot after all. Although initially insisting that they will oppose the idea no matter what, Williams not seems ready to accept that proposition. However, Frank Williams and Patrick Head admitted the 3rd car rule – if accepted – will have to address only genuine young drivers.

The idea was first penned by Ferrari's CEO Luca di Montezemolo, in an effort to secure Michael Schumacher a racing spot for the next year's championship. However, the chairman of the FOTA had to face some tough opposition from Williams, as the Brit insisted such a rule would only increase the gap between the resourced F1 manufacturers and independent teams.

However, if young drivers would be the beneficiaries of that rule, Williams is all for the idea, argued Head.

“I know Ferrari are very keen on it, they find themselves with rather a lot of drivers at the moment, so they're pushing for it. The (three cars) point has been raised by Ferrari, and we went back to Ferrari to say that we wouldn't necessarily be against it, but it would need drivers who hadn't been in formula one before,” said Head in an interview with ITV.

There are currently 4 drivers – although one could argue that Schumacher is not a viable option for the job – fighting for a Ferrari seat next season: Felipe Massa, Kimi Raikkonen, Fernando Alonso and Schumacher. If the teams would agree to a 3rd car per team rule, needless to say Ferrari would benefit from one of the most impressive drivers' lineups in the championship, something that Williams would arguably be against.

“If somebody was running Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen and Michael Schumacher – for instance – I'm not sure that would be ideal,” added Head.