Collision my fault, says Rubens

Barrichello lost his front wing in the impact, forcing him into the pits. After switching his strategy in an attempt to battle his way back into the points, the Brazilian was running ninth on the final lap when he suffered a left-rear puncture. That dropped him to 12th.

"It's been a tough day," said Rubens. "I had to protect my line at the start as 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. I hit him hard enough to brake my front wing. My race was therefore spoilt from start to finish.

"We changed strategy but we always knew that two stops was going to be very hard and that is how things turned out. Sometimes things don't go to plan and today was one of those days."