Michael Schumacher's manager, Willi Webber, revealed today that the injured driver is not healing as fast as they hoped, meaning he may not be back as early as thought or even at all this season. "Michael has not made the step forward we would have expected," said Weber, "and the doctors are saying very clearly that Michael will not be back in the car in the next weeks."

He went on to say that, "Michael will not come back unless he is 100 percent fit. It could be 12 to 16 weeks now, but it does not make any sense to talk about when he will come back because it is all up to the doctors and when they say he can." Webber added: "Michael and I had hoped for a quicker healing process but we were brought back into reality."

Schumacher is currently on crutches, undergoing physiotherapy and physical rehabilitation of the injured leg and muscles.

Furthermore, the Italian daily paper, "Il Corriere della Serra" carries today an article written by Ferrari President, Luca di Montezemolo, who yesterday met with Michael Schumacher at his home in Switzerland, for the first time since Silverstone.

After a difficult time following the accident and Eddie Irvine's win in Zeltweg, the President said, amongst other things, on the subject of Irvine: "Yesterday, along with Schumacher, he has proved himself capable of getting the job done and this is fundamental to us. There is no doubt about it, he is very good.

"Sunday's win is one I will not forget - great, hard won and important for everyone, in that Ferrari proved that it can win without Schumacher, even though for years, some have denied this and it also shows that Irvine can fight to the end for the championship. We will all support him enthusiastically, even though we know it will be a very hard feat to pull off. Up until Sunday, we had seen our main opposition mount an impressive counter attack, proving they are very strong. We cannot and must not forget this."

On the subject of Schumacher, di Montezemolo wrote: "I wanted to look him in the eyes to see how much he wants to get going again. During a pleasant meal with all his family, I found his moral to be extremely high and he was also impatient to get back on the track as soon as possible. If it was up to him, he would already be back in the car this Sunday. He is working hard on reducing the recovery period. We hope to welcome him back in Monza, but for the moment it is only a hope."

And on another note: Ferrari's test driver, Luca Badoer, tested today some new aerodynamic solutions and components for the German Grand Prix. The Italian driver covered a total of 42 kilometres (23 laps) driving the F399 chassis number 194.