Ralf plays down de la Rosa incident

The pair were completing their fuel burn off laps in the early part of Q3 when they came together at the hairpin. Schumacher's front right wheel hit the right rear of de la Rosa, tapping the McLaren into a spin.

Toyota were able to repair the minor damage to Schumacher's car in time for him to get out again, and he duly grabbed eighth on the grid.

"The weekend was going well for me until Q3, when the unfortunate collision with de la Rosa caused me to lose a lot of time," said Schumacher.

"It looked to me that he was opening the gap for me to overtake on the inside and then he just turned in the last moment, where I could not react anymore. These things can happen and are just normal racing incidents.

"It was just a shame because the performance until then was good and I was in third position. But I really thank the guys for working fast to get the car out again so that I move up to eight place.

"I think we really could have qualified much better for tomorrow, but this position can also be promising for attaining points."

Schumacher's problems were nothing compared to teammate Jarno Trulli, who had to have an engine changed before qualifying. He will start 22nd.

"This weekend seems to be challenging for me," explained Trulli, who penned a new three-year deal with Toyota this weekend.

"It will be a difficult fight from the back, but I am confident we can make the best of it and push to the front."