Report: Michael wins Schu battle

The Schumacher brothers were in a class of their own at Interlagos, ending the 71-lap race almost a minute up on the third-place McLaren of David Coulthard. It was the Scot's first points of the year, but although the McLaren was closer to the pace than it was in either of the first two races, he benefited greatly from Juan Pablo Montoya's misfortune.

At the start Michael made the perfect getaway and drew alongside Montoya. The Williams driver squeezed the Ferrari towards the pit wall but left the world champion just enough room. The Colombian held off the brakes slightly longer going into the first corner to lead, but ran wide on the exit leaving the door open for Schumacher.

The two cars ran side by side through Turn Three but the Ferrari had the better line and led onto the straight. Montoya tucked into the slipstream in preparation for a move into Turn Four but as the cars jinked and tussled for track position the Williams lost its front wing. It was the faintest of touches, but the damage was done and the Colombian's woes were compounded when he picked up a puncture on his own debris.

"It was an exciting first two corners," said Michael. "I thought I could outbrake Juan into Turn 1 but he was later on the brakes than me, but I could see that he was going to run wide. After this I knew I could get inside of him. I honestly don't know what happened going into Turn 4 - I didn't feel a thing."

Also in trouble on the opening lap were Giancarlo Fisichella and Allan McNish who collided forcing both to pit. Both Renault drivers made good starts and ran ahead of the McLaren pair in the opening stages, but the man on the move was Rubens Barrichello.

The Ferrari star was clearly on a light fuel load and he scythed his way past Kimi Raikkonen, Coulthard, Jenson Button and Jarno Trulli in successive laps. He had the crowd on their feet as he easily pulled up alongside Ralf Schumacher, and slotted into second place under braking into the first corner. He then proceeded to reel in his team-mate at over half a second a lap, moving into P1 when Schuey eased off the throttle on the run into Turn 4.

However, there was to be no fairy tale for Rubens in his home race as once again bad luck struck. For the eighth time in as many Brazilian GPs he was forced to retired, his Ferrari F2001 suffering a terminal hydraulic failure.

Following Barrichello's retirement, Michael maintained a lead over Ralf of around eight seconds. Both were on a one-stop strategy but the Ferrari pitted first. Ralf upped the pace and when he rejoined after his own 9.6-second stop, the gap was just 2.5s. A series a fastest lap brought the difference to less than a second, but Michael was able to match his pace and the Williams was never in a position to attempt a pass.

"There's only one real overtaking place here and that's into Turn 1, so I was focussed on not letting Ralf have a run on me into there," said the victor. "Around the rest of the track I concentrated on not making a mistake. This is a great result for the Ferrari-Bridgestone package."

Good pit work from McLaren put Coulthard into third and Raikkonen fourth at the expense of the Renaults. Trulli's fine drive went unrewarded after his engine blew in spectacular style, moving Montoya into the points. The Williams gained a further place when Raikkonen's race ended at Turn 4. The Finn lost control under braking thanks to a wheel hub failure before bouncing over the gravel.

This moved Mika Salo into the points for the second time this year. The Jaguar demonstrated improved performance to take seventh and eighth.

Now the series moves to Europe with the battle between Ferrari and Williams, Bridgestone and Michelin poised to make this an epic world championship.

For full race results, click here.

For full championship standings, click here.