Ralf says Toyota stronger than expected

The German driver, however, was left encouraged by his Toyota's pace and admitted he wasn't expecting to run so strongly in the race.

"The car felt strong and we were doing competitive times, but I was unlucky not to make it past Barrichello at the second pitstop," Schumacher said. "Unfortunately we had an engine failure in the closing stages of the race.

"Of course we are disappointed, because we were stronger in the race than expected. The whole weekend was a step forward and we will certainly make another small step in Barcelona."

The Japanese squad failed to score any points despite running in the points for a big part of the race.

Italian Jarno Trulli left Germany still without a point after struggling with the handling of his car. Trulli went on to finish in ninth.

"I was pushing the whole race, but was struggling with the balance and getting enough grip in the tyres," said Trulli. "The team tried some different set-up adjustments, but I just did not seem to increase my pace until the last 10 laps. By then it was too late to make any impact on the race result.

"I think once the issue has been evaluated, we can say more about what happened. Right now, it is important that we keep working and keep improving on the car to set some good laps at the coming race."