Barrichello Accepts Blame for First Lap Incident

Brazilian Rubens Barrichello accepted the blame on Sunday for a collision that ended his run as the only Formula One driver to have scored in every Grand Prix this season.

While Ferrari teammate and six times champion Michael Schumacher celebrated his 11th success in 12 races before his home fans in Germany, Barrichello limped home in 12th place with a puncture.

Until Hockenheim, Barrichello had enjoyed a run of 12 successive races in the points - starting from 2003's Japanese season-ender. However, a first-lap collision with David Coulthard's McLaren smashed his front wing and sent him to the back of the field with a huge task ahead of him.

"It's been a tough day," he said. "I had to protect my line at the start as (Juan Pablo) Montoya was very close. I tried to get inside Coulthard but unfortunately I locked the rear wheels and I guess it was all my fault.

"We changed strategy but we always knew that two stops was going to be very hard and that is how things turned out."

The Brazilian remained second overall in the Championship, 36 points adrift of Schumacher, and his failure to score points made Schumacher's seventh title even more of a formality with six races remaining.