With Nico starting from sixth and Michael from seventh place on the grid, both drivers lost a position to Rubens Barrichello at the start which compromised their pace in the early part of the race. Michael made his pit stop on lap 19 with excellent work by the team's pit crew enabling him to jump ahead of Rubens who pitted at the same time. Nico stayed out, taking advantage of a gap in the traffic to put in some flying laps, and made his stop on lap 28 to rejoin just behind his team-mate.
Michael crossed the finish line in sixth place after overtaking Fernando Alonso on the final lap of the race when the team believed that the track had gone green and racing had resumed after the fourth and final safety car period. Michael subsequently received a 20 second time penalty from the stewards after the race which the team is now appealing.
MICHAEL SCHUMACHER
"My race today would have been pretty normal without the decision of the stewards afterwards. The start was interesting and it actually went according to plan. I managed to have a good pull-away but then I was a bit stuck and was caught by Rubens. So I had to wait for the opportunity to overtake and the team played it brilliantly. The crew was fantastic and thus the pit stop got me in front of him. The result in the very end, which put me back to twelfth place for now, was obviously disappointing for me and I can fully understand that we are appealing the decision. Our understanding was that the 'safety car in, track clear' message meant we were back to racing conditions, so I went for it and overtook Fernando."
ROSS BRAWN
"With regard to the penalty given to Michael, we believed that the track had gone green and the race was not finishing under a safety car when article 40.13 clearly would have applied. The reason for the safety car had been removed, the FIA had announced 'Safety Car in this lap' early on lap 78 and the track had been declared clear by race control. This was further endorsed when the marshals showed green flags and lights after safety car line one. On previous occasions when it has been necessary to complete a race under a safety car, full course yellows are maintained, as in Melbourne 2009. On the last lap, we therefore advised our drivers that they should race to the line and Michael made his move on Fernando for sixth place. We have appealed the decision of the stewards."
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