Schuey refuses to take blame

World champion Michael Schumacher refused to take the blame for the collision between him and compatriot Nick Heidfeld after both of them were forced out of Sunday's Australian Grand Prix.

Schumacher and Heidfeld came together on lap 46 when the Ferrari driver was coming out from his second pit stop and forced the Williams man onto the grass as the pair headed into turn three.

Schumacher limped back to the pits to retire after being pushed out of the gravel trap by the race marshals but the collision put an immediate end to Heidfeld's race and he quickly blamed the world champion for the crash.

But Schumacher defended himself and said: "What can you say? With this kind of thing there are always lots of different opinions and mine is that it is impossible to blame either one of us.

"I saw him behind me just as I came out of the pits and I made it clear that I was defending my position. At one point I lost sight of him in my mirrors and I went into the corner when I felt I had been hit.

"I have seen the incident on film. He was on the grass and he was not in full control of his car. I can't blame him for trying to overtake me but my car was slightly damaged and there was no point in carrying on.”

Schumacher failed to finish for the first time since he crashed out of the Monaco Grand Prix last May when he had been following Juan Pablo Montoya's Williams during a safety car period.

It was ironic that a collision with a Williams put him out again but he remained upbeat about what is a long season and said team-mate Rubens Barrichello's second place gave the team great encouragement.

"We were competitive and Rubens drove a super race despite the fact we had last year's car, so there are some positives,"said Schumacher. "We had a good pace and we can be satisfied. It is not the end for us at all.”