Schumacher suffers mixed emotions after win

Despite suffering from a tyre vibration on his car that slowed his progress in the closing laps, Schumacher inherited his third victory of the season when Hakkinen stopped with clutch problems on his final tour of the Barcelona circuit.

"I felt simply sorry when I saw his car by the side of the track," said Schumacher. "Both of us had done a very good race, a very entertaining race like some of our old races - like last year. He jumped me at the last pit stop after I'd had some traffic, and then I had a little trouble as well.

"Then to see him retire on the last lap five corners from the end is shocking because he had done everything right. I feel sorry for him and I went to see him afterwards and said I was sorry. But it's happened to me before and I know it's happened to him. Sometimes racing is hard."

Schumacher explained that his 'little trouble' was a massive vibration after his final stop, which he initially thought was a tyre de-laminating.

"It was a huge vibration," he said, "and because I though a tyre was de-laminating, I slowed down a lot, especially on the straights, in case the tyre exploded. We thought about stopping, then decided to continue, but it was a worry until the end."

Schumacher's victory gives him 36 world championship points - eight ahead of David Coulthard, who salvaged two points for McLaren after a troubled race.