Schuey: Master-pass doesn’t mean Montoya is king

As he prepared for the fourth round in Imola on Sunday, the world champion said the media hype around the Colombian was getting out of control. But he praised Montoya's fearless driving style and said it was reminiscent of his own attitude when he arrived in F1 in 1991 with Jordan.

The BMW-Williams driver was the sensation of the Brazilian Grand Prix, muscling his way past Schumacher and into the lead at the Senna S on the third lap. He was heading for victory until he was punted out of the race from behind by Jos Verstappen's lapped Arrows.

Schumacher says it is too early to proclaim Montoya as a future king, however.

"After one overtaking manoeuvre you are not automatically the champion," he said. "You need more. Don't misunderstand me, he did a fantastic race, but sometimes the media makes too much out of things. If you look at the pure lap times you see my brother was eight-tenths faster than Montoya, so the real winner should have been my brother.

"I don't see it as being beaten in Brazil, you have to be realistic. Sure, I was surprised at the start that we weren't quicker on a two-stop strategy, but then you have to accept it and say the others were stronger.

"I see it realistically. Even if I had stayed in front we would not have had a chance because of their speed."

Schumacher leads the championship with 26 points, six ahead of McLaren's David Coulthard, while Montoya has yet to score.