Schumacher Wins Canadian GP to Take WC Lead

Ferrari's Michael Schumacher scored his sixth victory in the Canadian Grand Prix at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Sunday and established a three-point lead at the head of the World Championship standings ahead of Kimi Raikkonen.

Schumacher, the reigning champion, moved to the top of the standings for the first time this season with the 68th win of his career as McLaren's Raikkonen could only finish sixth after starting from the pitlane.

The Ferrari driver got ahead of brother Ralf, of Williams, after the first pitstops and held off the challenge of the younger Schumacher and his teammate Juan Pablo Montoya to take the chequered flag.

Ralf Schumacher picked up second place with Montoya third after his hopes of victory were dashed by a spin on lap two. Spaniard Fernando Alonso was fourth for the Renault team and Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello came home fifth.

Mark Webber scored another two points for Jaguar with seventh place after trailing Raikkonen home and Toyota's Olivier Panis collected his first points of the season in eighth. Minardi driver Jos Verstappen and Jaguar's Antonio Pizzonia were the only others to finish the race.

The retirements included home favourite Jacques Villeneuve with the BAR-Honda driver's miserable luck in the Canadian race continuing on the 25th anniversary of his father's victory in the event.

Championship leader Raikkonen started from the pitlane following his failure to set a time in qualifying on Saturday and his McLaren team immediately filled his car with fuel to ensure he could run for the longest possible time.

Jordan driver Ralph Firman, due to begin on the back row of the grid after a dismal qualifying performance, also started from the pitlane as his team made changes to his car. At the start Montoya went wide at the opening corner to retain his second place with Michael Schumacher pushing him, while Webber attempted to pass Barrichello for fifth place.

Webber's Jaguar teammate Antonio Pizzonia lost his front wing on the opening lap after running into the back of Jarno Trulli and was forced to pit, and Barrichello then stopped the following lap with his front wing loose.

Second-placed Montoya made an error and spun at the final corner and he dropped to fifth before gaining a place by overtaking Webber. He moved back up another place after forcing his way past Alonso.

Sauber's Heinz-Harald Frentzen stopped at the side of the track on the 10th lap, and Jacques Villeneuve's brake problems resulted in his car being pushed into the garage and eventually retired.

The Jordan team also suffered a nightmare on lap 22 when both Firman and teammate Giancarlo Fisichella retired. Firman pulled off the track and Fisichella exited the race because of gear selection problems.

Minutes earlier both Ralf and Michael Schumacher had made their first pitstops from the front of the field within two laps of each other. Ferrari driver Michael, who was the second to pit, came out marginally in front of his brother.

That left Alonso in the lead of the race, but Michael, running nose-to-tail with his pole-sitting brother, took over when the Spaniard stopped on lap 26. He emerged in fourth place behind Montoya, who was 13 seconds adrift of the Schumachers.

Raikkonen's hopes of making an impression on his one-stop strategy suffered a blow when he was hit by a puncture and lost his tyre at the pitlane entrance. Barrichello, running immediately behind Raikkonen, narrowly avoided a collision with the tyre which flew off the Finn's McLaren.

Barrichello's ill-handling Ferrari then lost a bargeboard following his second pitstop and Toyota's da Matta ran over the bodywork on the track.

Ralf stopped for a second time at the end of lap 45 and Williams changed only the back tyres -- meaning the front tyres will be used for the whole race. He lost time, however, behind backmarkers and brother Michael held onto his lead after making his final stop.

Sauber driver Nick Heidfeld then exited the race after suffering an engine failure on the pit-straight and Coulthard's miserable run of form continued as he called a day on his race after gearbox problems with his McLaren as he drove into the garage.

BAR-Honda driver Jenson Button, on his return to action following his accident in the Monaco Grand Prix, joined the list of retirements after also losing his gears with only 12 runners remaining in the race.

Montoya continued to home in the lead pair and Alonso also joined him in the frame with the quartet separated by less than two seconds. But Schumacher held off the attentions to claim victory.

Minardi's Justin Wilson and da Matta had both exited the race in the closing stages to leave only 10 drivers running.

PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS The Canadian Grand Prix Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal; 70 laps; 305.270km; Weather: Sunny, some wind. Classified: Pos Driver Team-Engine Tyres Time 1. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 1h 31:13.591 2. R.Schumacher Williams BMW (M) + 0.784 3. Montoya Williams BMW (M) + 1.355 4. Alonso Renault (M) + 4.481 5. Barrichello Ferrari (B) + 1:04.261 6. Raikkonen McLaren Mercedes (M) + 1:10.502 7. Webber Jaguar Cosworth (M) + 1 lap 8. Panis Toyota (M) + 1 lap 9. Verstappen Minardi Cosworth (B) + 2 laps 10. Pizzonia Jaguar Cosworth (M) + 4 laps 11. da Matta Toyota (M) + 6 laps Fastest Lap: Alonso, 1:16.040, lap 53 Not Classified/Retirements: Driver Team On Lap Wilson Minardi Cosworth (B) 61 Button BAR Honda (B) 52 Coulthard McLaren Mercedes (M) 48 Heidfeld Sauber Petronas (B) 48 Trulli Renault (M) 23 Fisichella Jordan Ford (B) 21 Firman Jordan Ford (B) 21 Villeneuve BAR Honda (B) 15 Frentzen Sauber Petronas (B) 7 World Championship Standing, Round 8: Drivers: Constructors: 1. M.Schumacher 54 1. Ferrari 85 2. Raikkonen 51 2. McLaren-Mercedes 76 3. Alonso 34 3. Williams-BMW 64 4. R.Schumacher 33 4. Renault 47 5. Montoya 31 5. Jordan-Ford 11 = Barrichello 31 = BAR-Honda 11 7. Coulthard 25 7. Sauber 8 8. Trulli 13 8. Jaguar-Cosworth 6 9. Fisichella 10 9. Toyota 4 10. Button 8 11. Frentzen 7 12. Webber 6 13. da Matta 3 = Villeneuve 3 15. Heidfeld 1 = Firman 1 = Panis 1 All timing unofficial