Montagny replaces Ide at Super Aguri

Formula One newcomers Super Aguri have replaced struggling Japanese rookie Yuji Ide with France's Franck Montagny on advice from the sport's governing body.

Montagny, a former Renault test driver, will make his race debut in Sunday's European Grand Prix as the first Frenchman on the starting grid since Toyota's Olivier Panis retired in 2004.

Ide, 31, will carry out testing for the team away from race weekends.

"He will not be a third driver, just a tester," said a spokeswoman. The team had planned to run a third car in Friday practice, with Montagny signed to drive it, but will not now do so at the Nuerburgring.

"We accept the advice offered by the FIA to allow Yuji to accrue the mileage he requires to improve in Formula One during our testing days only," said team principal Aguri Suzuki in a statement.

Ide's Formula One career has been troubled from the start. At the last race at Imola, he was reprimanded by the stewards for causing a spectacular accident that sent Midland's Christijan Albers barrel-rolling into the gravel on the opening lap.

He also hit a mechanic at a pitstop in the Bahrain season-opener. Several teams and drivers have voiced safety concerns about his driving and the reaction yesterday was equally unflattering.

"Without judging Ide's driving, I don't think it will change a lot if he does more testing," said BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld.

"Sometimes he has really different lines to us. Maybe that's because they drive on the other side in Japan," added Red Bull's Austrian Christian Klien.

McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen also sounded relieved.

"In Monaco it could have been a bit disastrous," the Finn told reporters.

"He's a nice guy but he was quite slow and then he was spinning quite often so you never knew if he was going to spin in front of you when you were close to him."

Super Aguri, formed in a matter of months with Honda support, are the newest team on the grid and began the season with the first all-Japanese line-up of Ide and experienced Takuma Sato.

Ide, a runner-up in last year's Formula Nippon championship, had barely any testing under his belt and was never at ease in an uncompetitive car derived from a four-year-old Arrows.