Ralf Schumacher could find money a problem at Williams

Team boss Frank Williams said they were "playing hardball" in negotiations with Schumacher, who has been linked with a move to big-money Toyota.

Williams said: "We have agreed to park the problem of money for quite some time and review it mid-season onwards."

And he insisted there was no rush to fill Juan Pablo Montoya's job for 2005. "We'll look at everybody," he said.

Williams look to Button

Williams and Schumacher have already conducted negotiations about extending his contract, which runs out at the end of this year.

But they reached an impasse over money, with Schumacher's manager Willi Weber reputedly wanting an increase from $13m (�6.9m) to $18m (�9.5m) and Williams wanting to impose a pay cut.

Williams insists that Schumacher is his "preferred choice" for one of his two available seats in 2005, when Montoya will move to McLaren, butToyota are also said to be interested in employing Schumacher then.

Williams said: "We won't talk about it again until the second half of the season. Once that is underway, we will see where we are in the championship and get back to fighting over the money."