Brawn: 'We feared Schu had puncture'

Schumacher took the lead when poleman Montoya slid wide at Turn 1, but the Colombian then clipped the left-rear tyre of the Ferrari on the straight before Turn 4, which caused Montoya to lose his front wing.

"We were concerned Montoya might have punctured one of Michael's rear tyres because he hit him quite hard but luckily that didn't happen," said Brawn. "Michael drove the whole race beautifully but the last 20 laps were fantastic."

Brawn paid tribute to Bridgestone's new tyre which, unlike many thought, was able to take a one-stop pit strategy: "The tyres performed very well. People thought we were doing one thing with the strategy and we did another, so I was pleased with that. It was a tough race but it all fell into place."

Bridgestone's technical manager Hisao Suganuma said: "The one-stop strategy was a team decision but that fact they were able to do it demonstrates that our tyres had the capability. Looking at Michael's lap times, it's clear the new tyre we brought here helped the consistency of his performance in these hot conditions. Nevertheless, the gap to Williams was close and there is room for improvement on our part."