Michael Schumacher claimed McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen inadvertently helped him streak ahead and win the European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring. The world champion was 17 seconds clear after seven laps as the second-placed Raikkonen held up traffic.
Schumacher said: "It was fantastic to see how much I was able to pull away. I was greatly helped by Kimi being second and not being passed.
"I worked hard to get a gap and just drove it home safely."
Schumacher added: "There were times I could have been quicker but not that much.
"I was pretty confident because I knew strategy-wise what it meant coming out straight behind the other guys at the first pit stop.
 |  We would like to dedicate this success to Umberto Agnelli |
"That gave me the confidence and everything worked fantastic for us."
Schumacher also paid tribute to Fiat chairman Umberto Agnelli, who died of cancer three days ago.
Afterwards, Schumacher and team-mate Rubens Barrichello, who was second, chose not to spray champagne on the podium out of respect for Agnelli.
Schumacher said: "We would like to dedicate this success to him personally as he was a great supporter of Ferrari through all the years.
"It was a shock to all of us to hear the message, so I hope you understand that the celebrations and the excitement is obviously reduced."
MMIX
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