Schumacher 'Not Too Disappointed' Despite No Points

Championship leader Michael Schumacher admitted he was not too disappointed despite retiring from his home Grand Prix as he left the German circuit of Hockenheim with the same lead in the standings with only five races remaining in the season.

Schumacher's Grand Prix started badly as he was unable to select any gears at the beginning of the race, with Prost driver Luciano Burti crashing heavily against the Ferrari. The race was stopped and the German was able to use the spare car to take the second start.

However, Schumacher retired after a pit stop when his car slowed down due to mechanical problems. He got out of the car, slowly removed his helmet and then applauded the fans. But his gloom soon turned to delight when David Coulthard's McLaren let out a puff of smoke and pulled over.

"It would have been nice to score another six points so we could have finally done it in Hungary but we will have to wait a bit longer," said Schumacher, who has a 37-point lead over Coulthard. "But seeing Ralf and Rubens up there makes up for some of the disappointment.

"At the first start I had a problem with the gear selection. I did not know where to go and when I saw Burti in my mirrors I couldn't move out of the way. I am not too disappointed as the situation in the Championship remains the same and there is one less race to go.

"Of course I'm very happy for Ralf as this is our home race and it was good to see him win here. It would have been nice to get on the podium with Ralf and Rubens and the fans would have liked it."