Force India: Schumacher in testing, Gascoyne threatens to leave

Ralf Schumacher, who parted ways with the Toyota team last month, will take part in the tests scheduled for December in Jerez, Spain with Force India. This information about the former Spyker team is revealed by the Sunday edition of Die Welt.

The younger brother of seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher will therefore be present on December 4 in Spain for these tests, the report indicates.

Force India already has the German Adrian Sutil as a driver for 2008 but is looking for a second driver. Schumacher, on the other hand, finds himself in an increasingly limited situation since he left Toyota after a three-year stint.

For his final season with the Toyota team, Schumacher finished 16th in the World Drivers’ Championship with only five points, marking his worst result since his debut in 1997.

The former Spyker team has been partially bought by Vijay Mallya, who knows Ralf Schumacher well. The situation, as it stands today, suggests that a possible contract could materialize between the German and the Indian team.

But following this announcement, it is Mike Gascoyne who makes a thunderous statement…

And with good reason, he allegedly threatened to leave the team if Force India signs a contract with Ralf Schumacher for 2008.

The same Berlin-based daily previously mentioned also argued that Gascoyne, who is otherwise committed to staying with the team in the wake of Spyker’s sale, has threatened to resign from his position as technical director if Schumacher takes a racing seat next year.

Die Welt explains that Gascoyne, 44, briefly worked with Schumacher in 1998, but the latter is said to have been the main instigator of his dismissal as technical director of Toyota at the beginning of 2006.

Aged 32, Ralf is a close friend of Vijay Mallya, the owner of the newly renamed team Force India. This friendship stems from their meeting when Mallya sponsored Toyota with the Kingfisher brand.

Tonio Liuzzi and Christian Klien, for their part, will be put to the test next week in Barcelona with the former Spyker team as part of the private testing scheduled from November 13 to 15.

Finally, rumors are circulating that Giancarlo Fisichella has been invited to join Schumacher next month for the Jerez tests…