More damage limitation for Schuey

For once, Schumacher was forced to play second-fiddle to team-mate Rubens Barrichello when the safety car was called for due to a track invader on the Hangar Straight. As Barrichello was ahead of him on the track, Schumacher had to queue up in the pits while his Brazilian colleague was returned to the race before he could make his stop.

"It was an interesting and very busy race," said Schumacher. "To be honest, it was difficult to have an overview of what happened from the cockpit. Waiting in pit lane behind Rubens for the first pit stop meant we both lost a bit of time and we lost some more as the mechanics had to wait for a gap in the traffic to let Rubens out. But it was definitely the right decision to come in and wait rather than do another lap.

Schumacher was happy to let Barrichello be the star of the Ferrari show for the day, and is now seven points ahead of McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen in the title chase.

"Rubens drove a perfect race with some outstanding passing moves to fight his way through the field," he said. "He deserves the victory and I am happy for him. As for myself, fourth is not too bad considering what happened and in terms of the championship, my lead over Kimi has only been reduced by one point."