Coulthard apologises to Ralf

Coulthard took a run down the inside of Schumacher into Turn 15 but hit the right rear of the Williams, puncturing Schumacher's tyre. Race stewards investigated the incident but decided that no further action was necessary.

"I was behind him and Alonso and Ralf seemed to be just following the Renault round, so I decided to have a go," DC explained. "It was a bit marginal but everybody raved about Sato when he tried it with Rubens, so I don't see why I should get any flak...

"I always seek out another driver if I'm involved in any incident, and Ralf was okay about it."

In fact, Schumacher's car suffered no damage other than the puncture but the German arrived in the pits when the team was expecting Juan Pablo Montoya's second stop, so dealt with the Colombian first. After realising that there was no damage to Schumacher's car, they wanted Ralf to go back out but, helmet already off, Schumacher declined the invitation.

"I would have been two laps down by then," he said. "It's a shame because I was fighting in the top five and would have scored points."

Despite his problems in the race, Schumacher outperformed Juan Pablo Montoya all weekend on his F1 return and impressed the team with his fitness an approach. Until he elected not to go back out...