Heidfeld blames Schumacher

German Nick Heidfeld blamed World Champion Michael Schumacher for the incident that put both men out of the Australian Grand Prix.

Heidfeld shunted Ferrari driver Schumacher off into the gravel at turn three and although the Ferrari driver was pushed back on to the track, he pitted and retired. The Williams driver went onto the grass to avoid hitting Schumacher, but the cars eventually made contact.

Both men retired on lap 46, with just over ten laps to go.

Heidfeld believes Schumacher was to blame.

"I think that I made a good move," said Heidfeld, making his Grand Prix debut with Williams. "Michael just came out of the pits and obviously he had a bad exit from the first chicane because he wasn't on the ideal line.

"I went alongside him and I could have out-braked him but he didn't leave me any space and pushed me on to the grass, where braking is obviously impossible.

"Apart from this unfortunate end to my race, we had a good weekend here, probably better than expected and Mark finished in the points."

Teammate Mark Webber finished fifth, equalling his best career result.