Toyota team president John Howett is reportedly looking for a possible successor to the 31-year-old brother of seven-time world champion Michael.
BERLIN: Ralf Schumacher's days with Toyota seem to be numbered after reports in the German press on Wednesday suggest his employers are considering other options for next season.
After his 16th-placed finish at last weekend's Monaco Grand Prix, German daily newspaper Bild reported Toyota team president John Howett is looking for a possible successor to the 31-year-old brother of seven-time world champion Michael.
In his three years with Toyota, Schumacher, who earns 17 million euros a year, has only finished in the top three on three occasions.
So far Schumacher has picked up just one point in five races and is in joint 13th position in the drivers' championship table with his contract set to expire at the end of the season. "We are looking at the market," Howett told Bild.
Schumacher is driving for his Formula One career and the pressure is on to prove himself at the next two races in Montreal, on June 10, and Indianapolis, June 17.
"Ralf has got himself into a downward-spiral. He must find some speed as quickly as possible, because his position at Toyota is becoming dangerous," 58-year-old three-times world champion Niki Lauda told Bild.
Since their Formula One debut in 2002, Toyota are still waiting for a Grand Prix victory and their 400 million euro budget is the biggest of the 11 competing teams.
After the first five races, Toyota are sixth place in the designer's world championship with just five points -- even Williams, with Toyota engines, are two points higher.
In the drivers' championship, Schumacher's team-mate Italian Jarno Trulli joint ninth with four points, four points higher than the German.
But after his poor performance in Monaco, Schumacher says he is looking forward to bouncing back at the Canadian GP in Montreal.
"Monaco is a one-off and I think that's how you have to treat it," said Schumacher in an interview on the Formula One website.
"The team has scored points in each of the first three races and we are all working hard to make progress.
"Montreal, the venue for the Canadian GP in a fortnight, is a totally different kind of circuit. The car should be better suited to the track. Let's hope so.
"Montreal is also a place I like going, with a good ambiance around the race and I will be doing my best to get a strong result for the team."
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