Michael Schumacher delighted with fifth after Lewis Hamilton fight

Michael Schumacher declared himself very happy with his performance in the Italian Grand Prix after coming home in fifth place.

The Mercedes driver was one of the protagonists of the early part of the event, when he was embroiled in a close battle with McLaren's Lewis Hamilton for third position.

In the end Schumacher dropped down the order to fifth, but the seven-time champion felt he had extract everything from his car and was pleased with the result.

"It was an exciting race today, both for me and I think for all of our fans, and that is why I am happy," said Schumacher. "The fighting against Lewis was big fun, and my mirrors seemed to be very small at times.

"We are both known for driving on the limit, and that is what we did. I had to make my car as wide as a truck, and had to stretch the possible as much as I could, but in the end, as expected, he was still faster.

"The start was ideal, I held back on purpose at first in order to use the grip perfectly afterwards, and then the left side was all free.

"To make the most of your possibilities is the maximum possible at times, and that is why I had fun today, especially knowing that there is more to come in the future, with all the support we have from Mercedes."

Team-mate Nico Rosberg's race lasted just one corner, after which he was taken out by the HRT of Tonio Liuzzi, who had lost control of his car on the grass.

"It was a disappointing race for me today in Monza," he said. "I had a difficult start on my prime tyres but still managed to gain a place at the first corner, so it was quite good.

"Then Liuzzi flew like a torpedo over the grass and put me out of the race. It's a pity because I had a strong strategy and, as Michael's good result showed, our car was very strong this afternoon."