RACE REPORT

Michael Schumacher raced to a close victory that sees him leapfrog Kimi Raikkonen and into the lead of the F1 World Championship for the first time this year. The two Williams drivers were unable to make their superiority around Montreal count, a second lap spin dropped Montoya backwards, while team mate Ralf Schumacher, who harried his brother for virtually the entire race, was unable to put a passing move together.

The top three crossed the finish line covered by just 1.3 seconds, while Fernando Alonso, making light of the Renaults lack of power, came home fourth, four and a half seconds adrift of Schumacher's winning Ferrari. Rubens Barrichello was next up, over a minute in arrears after stopping for a new front wing at the end of lap 1 and losing a bargeboard mid-race.

Kimi Raikkonen came home sixth, three valuable points limiting the damage done to his title challenge, having started from the pitlane and struggled to carve through the field with a heavy one-stop fuel load, a mid-race puncture also cost time. Mark Webber took seventh after a steady drive, while Olivier Panis claimed his first point for Toyota in eighth.

David Coulthard's slim title hopes vanished when he retired at two thirds distance, leaving the championship challenge a straight fight now between Kimi Raikkonen and Michael Schumacher, with the German now having gained the upper hand.

FERRARI

Fourth win of the season for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro and for Michael Schumacher. It was Ferrari's tenth Canadian Grand Prix victory, the 163rd from 678 Grands Prix. For Michael it was his sixth win in this event and the 68th of his career. 

Jean Todt: 

"It was an incredible race! Michael delivered a perfect performance despite suffering with brake problems for much of the race. Rubens also did a good job. When he pitted on lap 2 to change the nose, damaged in a collision with Alonso, we changed his strategy, allowing him to bring home valuable points in the race for the Constructors' Championship. Today's was the sixtieth win since I joined Ferrari and probably one of our most hard won victories." 

"The team did an excellent job in terms of strategy and during the pit stops. Also vital was the help which we received as usual from our technical partners, especially Bridgestone who provided very competitive tyres and Shell, with a fuel which was ideally suited to the characteristics of this track. We have reached the halfway point of the season, leading both championships. We can expect the second half to be very tough because the opposition is very strong. We think we have all the elements in place to reach the targets we set ourselves at the start of the year." 

Michael Schumacher: 

"This was the ideal result at the end of a very tough and tight race. I had to be careful to look after the brakes so I did not push too hard at first, just maintaining my pace after a very good start. I was able to stay close to Ralf and only really pushed hard in the period around the pit stops. There was a time when I thought I was going to pass Ralf, but then his tyres seemed to improve and I could not get by. But the mechanics did a great job in the pit stop to put me in the lead. Of course, it is important to be leading the championship in what I have always said will be a hard season with a tough fight to the end. As for having 999 points, in Germany that number means you have to buy everyone a drink, so we will see what happens tonight!" 

Rubens Barrichello: 

"My race was conditioned by what happened at the start. We were all very close and, with Webber on the outside of me, I touched Alonso under braking and damaged the front wing. As I had to stop to change it, we changed the strategy. Then, during the race, I had problems with the brakes and also the gearbox electronics. On top of that, after I lost the left turning vane the car was no longer perfectly balanced. Despite all that, I was able to control Raikkonen when he closed up, thus managing to finish fifth. All in all, I can be happy with the final result as I was fifth on the grid, but virtually last after two laps." 

Ross Brawn: 

"This was one of the best races I have ever seen. I am delighted with Michael's win and it is a shame about Rubens, as he too could have been up with the front runners. Michael did a very good job of controlling the race despite brake wear problems right from the early stages. We breathed a sigh of relief when we got to the chequered flag! The strategy worked well, but the deciding factor was the way Michael drove." 

Michael Schumacher 1st 1.31.13.591 70 laps chassis 229 
Rubens Barrichello 5th + 64.261 70 laps chassis 228