Rolf Schumacher on Thursday said he is confident that Toyota will retain his son for the 2008 season.
The 61-year-old father of the famous Schumacher siblings told Bild newspaper that “neither I nor my son are nervous” that Ralf’s options to keep racing in formula one appear to be diminishing by the day.
“I am sure that Ralf will be in F1 also next year,” Schumacher Snr said.
But with even close paddock ally Gerhard Berger’s Toro Rosso team closing its doors to the six-time grand prix winner, Ralf’s hopes now appear to rest exclusively with Toyota electing to keep him.
Schumacher’s father, who recently visited his son at the Spa-Francorchamps test, added: “I believe Ralf will stay with Toyota. Who else would they have?
“A young driver is at best just as fast as Ralf but has less experience.”
The German magazine Sport Bild, however, claims that the Japanese giant is indeed investigating other options.
On offer for Ralf may be a 2008 contract that pays only points bonuses, as Cologne based Toyota flirts with the possibility of wooing another German, Nico Rosberg, from its customer team Williams.
