Williams failed to stop Michael Schumacher scoring a ninth win of the year at Hockenheim but they made him work for it after a series of disappointing races.

Ralf Schumacher chased his brother hard for much of the race and might have taken the lead at the first pit stops had it not been for bad luck in traffic.

He was on course for second before being forced to make a late-race pit stop.

The German ended up third, with team-mate Juan Pablo Montoya promoted to second.

Germany was the first time in six races that Montoya had not been on pole position.

But that was an indication that Williams' Michelin tyres were better suited to race conditions than they had been since the Canadian race in early June.

Williams had been particularly disappointed by their performance at the French Grand Prix two weeks ago, when they were outpaced by McLaren as well as Ferrari.

Head said: "Magny-Cours was a weak performance, and this was a lot stronger. We have made a lot of progress during the last week - we have to build on that."