Williams rues lost ground

The German driver was speaking after Giancarlo Fisichella finished in the points for the third race in succession in Canada.

The 10 points he has picked up since the European Grand Prix has promoted the Italian six points ahead of Schumacher to fifth in the driver's standings.

But Fisichella's podium finish in Montreal has elevated Benetton ahead of Williams to third place for the second time this season.

Benetton now have 18 points to Williams 15.

"We have to work hard now. I have the feeling that we are quite behind in respect of other teams - mostly Benetton," said Schumacher. "The car was OK in the dry but in the wet it was another story. My car was sliding everywhere and was almost out of control."

Team technical director Patrick Head said: "The race was an end to a weekend where we were never really competitive. We have quite a lot of work to do in order to raise the level of performance of the package."

Williams are testing at Magny-Cours in France this week from Wednesday. Jenson Button is driving until Friday and Schumacher for the last two days.