Michael Schumacher loses out after collision

Michael Schumacher was knocked from pole position to the back of the field in a first corner collision at the Malaysian Grand Prix today.

He worked his way back to finish third, but his brother Ralf took the chequered flag. Second place went to the man who caused the collision, Juan Pablo Montoya, Ralf's Williams-BMW team-mate. Jenson Button of Britain in a Renault was fourth.

At the first corner, Michael Schumacher had swung his his Ferrari across the track to close the door on number-two Montoya, who then swung wide and drew even with the four-time world champion as they pulled into the curve.

The Colombian tried to nose ahead, causing the front right wheel of his car to tear off Schumacher's front wing. Schumacher went into the pits for repairs that left him 21st in the field, from where he waged a steady fight back into the points.

The race stewards determined that Montoya was guilty of "causing an avoidable collision" and penalised him by forcing a drive through the pits to slow him down. The drive-through penalty resulted from a new rule imposed by the International Automobile Federation this season. Previously, Montoya would have expected to suffer a 10-second stop-and-go punishment.