CHINESE GP RESULT 1 R Barrichello (Ferrari) 2 J Button (BAR) 3 K Raikkonen (McLaren) 4 F Alonso (Renault) 5 JP Montoya (Williams) 6 T Sato (BAR) 7 G Fisichella (Sauber) 8 F Massa (Sauber) Race report Race as it happened Race in pictures

"That was a heck of a turbulent race, more than I imagined it would be," Schumacher said after finishing 12th.

"I'm very happy that one car at least got the win. That's what is important Certainly it was not my weekend, but I've had so many good ones this year.

"I had to pull the car out of the fire a few times."

Schumacher made a series of errors during the race, which he started from the pit lane after spinning on his qualifying lap on Saturday.

Having barged into Christian Klien's Jaguar on lap 12, the German spun three laps later.

He then suffered a shredded left rear tyre after 35 laps, forcing him into three pits stops instead of the intended two.

You never give up until the end. You never know what could happen Michael Schumacher

"I thought I was inside Christian and he thought he had his nose in front, which resulted in the collision," Schumacher said.

"Then I was fighting with (Fernando) Alonso but got too close in the important area of the corner and just spun off.

"After that I had the tyre failure - from that moment the race was over."

Schumacher then engaged in a fruitless battle with his old rival Jacques Villeneuve for 11th place.

The Ferrari star found himself behind the Renault twice as their pit stop strategies played out.

And although Schumacher finally found a way past the man to whom he lost the 1997 world championship, he immediately dropped behind again when he made his final pit stop for a splash of fuel.

"You never give up until the end. You never know what could happen. Others could have developed technical problems," Schumacher said.