I didn't cause Schu's crash, says Pedro

The Spanish driver was startled when the new world champion crashed into the back of his Jaguar on the approach to Eau Rouge. The collision, which occurred in soaking wet conditions, ripped off Schumacher's front wing and punctured de la Rosa's left rear tyre.

"I was coming out of the pits and I could see a Ferrari in my mirrors," said de la Rosa. "I just kept to my right before turning into Eau Rouge to let him by. At the very last moment I felt something hit me at the back.

"There was very little I could do because I could not disappear."

De la Rosa said he did everything to stay out of the German's path, but admitted visibility was a problem due to spray kicked up by cars.

"I let him have the whole road and he could have driven anywhere, but he preferred to hit me," he said. "But there is no one to blame because there was a lot of spray. I must say I could not judge where Michael was properly and I think the same applies to him.

"It was a racing accident, a typical wet weather incident," he surmised.

Despite the accident, Schumacher wound up at the top of the timesheets while de la Rosa was 13th, 3.4 seconds slower than the Ferrari and half a second slower than his eighth placed Jaguar team mate Eddie Irvine.