Ralf Praises Toyota's Strategy

Schumacher finished in third place at the Hungarian Grand Prix in what was his first top three finish since last year's Japanese Grand Prix.

The Toyota driver admitted he was unsure the three-stop strategy the team opted for would pay off, but was thankful once it proved to be the right decision.

"I must say the team did a great job over the weekend," said Schumacher after the race. "I must admit that I was not 100 percent positive about our strategy we chose, but the chief engineer was right to take it, so thanks to him.

"It was a great weekend for us, being third and fifth in qualifying, the car went great, the pitstops were perfect, so it was all good."

Schumacher was pleased to see his Toyota team proved competitive in the race after a couple of races in which they have shone in qualifying only to fade away come Sunday.

"We have had a lot of comments about us being good in qualifying and not able to maintain position in the race but I think we shocked people today that we are able to go as fast as anyone else except maybe McLaren," he added. "But they are driving in a different world at the moment anyway."

The German put his brother Michael under pressure on the final laps of the race, but the Ferrari driver kept Ralf at bay and the younger Schumacher had to settle for third.

"You could see he was doing the pace he needed to and out of the final corner he had a really good exit so there was no chance to really get him on the straight and I was waiting for a mistake, which he didn't do," added Ralf.