Schuey in seventh heaven

Schumacher became the first man to win seven grands prix at the same circuit (ironically one he doesn't class as challenging), and his victory surpasses his entire tally of race wins from 2003 - and there is still 10 races to go...

It's fair to say Michael had more than his fair share of luck at the start. Running heavier than many of the cars around him due to his two-stop strategy, he gained a position when third placed Jarno Trulli suffered suspension failure as he accelerated into Turn 1. His second stroke of luck came when McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen edged alongside him through Turn 2, but Michael was just able to stay ahead to run fifth on the opening lap.

Brother Ralf led away from pole position for Williams and put in a searing sequence of laps to pull away from Jenson Button's BAR. Fernando Alonso ran third for Renault, ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya, whose Williams had Michael's Ferrari for company in the opening laps.

Raikkonen managed to keep Barrichello's Ferrari bottled up behind him for seven laps, but Rubens outdragged him into the final chicane to pick up sixth. Raikkonen's team-mate, David Coulthard, was a first corner victim of the impetuous Christian Klien, who blotted his copybook again seconds later by hitting the McLaren for a second time and landing on team-mate Mark Webber, giving the Australian a puncture and suspension damage that would later put him out.

Ralf led by almost 5secs when Button pitted from second, the BAR having its front wing adjusted during the stop. Crucially, Montoya also pitted on lap 13 (unlucky for some) which immediately released M Schumacher. He immediately became the fastest man on the track, carving time out of those who were running three-stop strategies.

Ralf pitted on lap 15, allowing Alonso to lead for a couple of laps before he too stopped. This was a disastrous stop, however, as the fuel rig failed to connect and Alonso was stationary for 16secs. Hey, Michael, have another position why don't you.

Schuey was running up front now, setting a blinding 1m13.6s before his first stop on lap 19. He rejoined just behind Montoya, but had taken on a lot of fuel which would play dividends in the latter part of the race. Barrichello had already got trapped behind Montoya, which cost him his first shot at getting ahead of Michael.

Ralf now led by 4secs from Button, with Michael losing time in this segment of the race due to his heavier fuel load. He lost 5secs to Ralf over the next 13 laps, but the Williams driver really needed to make more of an impact on this stint. He would make his second stop on lap 34, allowing Michael back in front.

Suddenly a curveball came Michael's way, in the shape of his own team-mate. Running slightly lighter on fuel, Rubens was all over Schumacher for seven laps before the Brazilian's second stop. Despite a couple of tentative looks, Barrichello didn't really make a proper stab at passing Michael before stopping on lap 44.

Rubens' second stop was relatively slow, and in his attempts to push on his out lap, managed to cook the brakes and overshoot Turn 8, running across the grass. Not only did his chances of victory evaporate, so did his hopes of second place.

M Schumacher stopped for the final time on lap 47, just one tour before his little brother did likewise. Michael held a 6sec lead as the race went into its final phase, and Ralf never looked like getting close. Strategically, it was brilliant. As a spectacle, it wasn't. Not that Schuey cared much, of course.

"From our side it worked exactly to plan," said Michael. "We had a strong car from the beginning, and the strategy was fantastic. Rubens pushed me very, very hard and was very strong in the second stint in particular, but we managed it again. Fabulous!"

Ralf scored his first podium finish of the season, but had mixed feelings: "It was a better result than we expected, but it's a bit disappointing when you start from pole, lead half of the race and finish second. To split up the Ferraris is a good success, now it's down to us to improve our package and to win races again."

Barrichello said: "It was fun fighting with Michael, but the only chance I had to pass him was by overtaking him on the track. I had a bit less fuel than him, and when I went back on the track again I had a lot of fuel compared to him. Then my brake pedal started to go down, but I was pushing like hell to get in front of him, but the brake disc cooked and I went straight on at Turn 8. I lost second position because of that."

With the top three positions assured, the main interest lay in whether Montoya could overhaul Button for fourth. Despite closing the gap to under 2secs, Button had enough pace to hold him off.

Alonso would probably have finished ahead of both of them but for a driveshaft failure which put him out on lap 44. After its 100 percent reliability record (besides his Monaco crash which doesn't really count), Renault was forced to chalk up a double retirement.

Giancarlo Fisichella grabbed sixth once again for Sauber, benefiting late on when Raikkonen was forced to stop twice for new steering wheels. The Finn visited the pits no less than five times, once for a drive-thru when he clipped the white line on the pit exit (as if he hadn't had enough practice!). He finished seventh, with Cristiano da Matta scoring the final point.

It wasn't all good news for Sauber. Felipe Massa suffered a massive high-speed shunt at the hairpin after a rear wheel parted company with his car. He slammed into the tyres head-on, but escaped with just a sore elbow.

Coulthard finished ninth after his early clash with Klien, ahead of Olivier Panis (Toyota) and grand prix debutant Timo Glock (Jordan), who escaped a late clash with Klien which caused both to spin. Nick Heidfeld finished 12th, losing a heap of time when he almost rejoined the race with his refuelling man attached to the side of his car. The wild Klien and Zsolt Baumgartner (Minardi) rounded out the finishers.

Retirements included Takuma Sato, whose Honda engine blew in typically spectacular fashion despite being fresh for the race after starting from the pit lane.

After the race, the FIA excluded both Williams and both Toyotas due to brake duct irregularities, which means Ferrari got yet another 1-2, Button moves up to third ahead of Fisichella, Raikkonen and Coulthard, while both the Jordans of Glock and Heidfeld score points.