Podium finishes for WilliamsF1 drivers

Juan Pablo would later say: "It was a good performance from us today but we had hoped for an even better result. I made a mistake on lap two and lost a few positions so I had to fight my way up again."

The start of the Canadian Grand Prix would see the order at the front remain unchanged, except for Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello who would run into the back of Renault's Fernando Alonso damaging his rear wing. Team-mate Jarno Trulli would also drop two places behind Cristiano da Matta and a fast-starting David Coulthard.

Local hero BAR's Jacques Villeneuve would move from fourteenth to eleventh at the start. Another driver to make up a similar number of places was Minardi's Justin Wilson who moves from eighteenth to thirteenth. But for Trulli his race would be ruined when Jaguar's Antonio Pizzonia was to run into the back of his car. Trulli would return to the track but he would have to pit.

At the front Ralf Schumacher would build up a small lead on his team-mate Juan Pablo, sevenths tenths of a second, while Michael Schumacher was now more than a second behind the two WilliamsF1 drivers.

Lap two would see Ralf extend his lead but in a mistake that would cost him his chances of a race victory Juan Pablo would spin in the last corner and would drop behind Michael Schumacher, Alonso and Mark Webber. On this lap Barrichello would pit for repairs.

Ralf and Michael Schumacher would trade fastest laps and begin to pull away from Alonso. Lap four would see Juan Pablo pass Webber to take fourth place. The following lap Trulli's race would get even worse as his tyre would lose its tread and he would have to pit again.

At the front Ralf's lead over Michael is still under a second while Alonso is around eight seconds behind in third. In the midfield Frentzen slows and retires with a mechanical problem. lap eight would see Trulli spin. For Barrichello he would be running at the back of the field and on lap nine he would manage to overtake Firman to move to sixteenth.

Juan Pablo would continue his progress back up the order when on lap ten he would pass Alonso as they braked for the hairpin, moving back to third place. Minardi's Jos Verstappen would be the first driver to stop, indicating that he had a very light fuel load. Lap twelve and the order at the front remained the same but McLaren's David Coulthard would pass da Matta for seventh place. Minardi's Justin would pit, dropping from ten to seventeenth.
For Jacques Villeneuve he would pit with what appears to be a brake problem, rejoining the race but retiring on lap fifteen.

On the same lap sixth placed Olivier Panis would stop return in twelfth place. The next lap would see tam-mate Da Matta stopping. Lap eighteen and Heidfeld would stop, going from seventh to fifteenth. On lap nineteen Montoya and Webber would stop followed by Ralf Schumacher the next lap. Michael would go into the lead. Lap twenty one and Michael Schumacher would pit, returning ahead of Ralf. Further back both Jordan's retire with apparent engine failures.

Lap twenty four and Coulthard would pit, dropping from fourth to seventh. At the tail of the field Trulli would retire. Lap twenty six and Alonso would make his pit stop, returning behind the two Schumacher's and Montoya.

Lap thirty three and Raikkonen would lose the tread on one of his tyres, but he was able to go straight into the pits for his one and only stop. He would drop from fifth to tenth. Team-mate Coulthard would have a problem that would allow Mark Webber to close in on him.

Lap forty three would see the start of the second pit stops, while Webber would pass Coulthard for fifth place. Rubens loses a barge board down at the chicane. On lap forty five Juan Pablo would be the first of the frontrunners to stop. He would rejoin in fourth.

The following lap would see Ralf and Webber both pit allowing Alonso to move into second. Michael would remains at the front, and on lap forty eight would pit and emerge ahead of Ralf. Coulthard would stop and retire with a mechanical problem. In the midfield Heidfeld would retire with an engine problem. They would be joined by BAR's Jenson Button who would also retire with a mechanical problem. Lap fifty five and Alonso would pit for the last time and would return in fourth position.

At the front Michael was leading with both WilliamsF1 drivers close behind but such was the nature of the track that they could not pass the Ferrari. At the tail of the field Wilson retires his Minardi. He was joined by Da Matta on lap sixth five who would retire from eighth place.

As the laps counted down the leaders were running close together but Ralf was not able to make any passing moves on his brother. So on lap seventy Michael Schumacher would win the race ahead of Ralf, Juan Pablo and Alonso. Fifth place would go to Barrichello and sixth to Raikkonen. The remaining points would go to Webber in seventh and Panis in eighth.

After the race Ralf commented on his inability to pass brother Michael for the lead. Ralf said: "I was never close to even try, that's why I didn't," the German said. "Maybe some might think again that I took it too easy but if there is no possibility I won't try it. There's eight points for the team and for me and for Juan as well so it was important for us to score points at the same time."

Overall a very good result for the team which shows that they are certainly on their way back after struggling in the opening races of the season. The result would see Ralf move into fourth in the drivers championship, while the BMW WilliamsF1 team is closing on second placed McLaren.

Pos Driver Team-Engine Tyres Time

1. M. Schumacher Ferrari (B) 1h 31:13.591
2. R. Schumacher Williams BMW (M) + 0.484
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