Schumacher Feared Exhaust Problem Would Ruin Race

World Champion Michael Schumacher said he had feared a cracked exhaust pipe would force him out of the Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Catalunya.

Schumacher's last retirement due to technical problems was in the German Grand Prix in 2001, but the Ferrari driver feared his amazing run would end after 43 races without a technical failure.

Schumacher guided his car to victory ahead of Ferrari teammate Rubens Barrichello despite the problem to claim his fifth consecutive win of 2004 - but claimed the problem had been a real cause for concern.

"There was an exhaust problem, and it happened very early," said Schumacher. "We found it after the first pit stop and [technical director] Ross [Brawn] came on and said there was little we could do about it. We just hoped it would last although he was not very optimistic and neither was I.

"I just did what I could to preserve it and managed to drive it home. Even with such a problem we managed to get the car to the finish. The guys in the team here are really exceptional."

Schumacher started on pole, but followed Renault's Jarno Trulli until the first set of pitstops at the Barcelona track, before going on to claim a comfortable win in his 200th Grand Prix start. Trulli moved from fourth to first with an outstanding start, and Schumacher paid tribute to the Italian after admitting his early speed was impossible to counter.

"I started very well but all of a sudden I saw a blue Jarno Trulli flying on," said Schumacher. "At that moment I still had the option to close the door but he had so much speed I felt it would not be fair. I left open the door and had to trust that I would get past him.

"He was never really close enough to overtake so we had to depend on our strategy and it work very well. Behind Trulli we were a bit slower than we could have run but the concern was where I would be after the pits stops. In the end we were OK."