MELBOURNE, April 2 - Ralf Schumacher overcame a drive-through penalty to
secure Toyota's first podium finish of the season at the Australian Grand Prix
on Sunday.
Toyota, struggling in the first two races after finishing fourth overall last
year, needed a boost and Schumacher provided it with a determined drive from
sixth on the grid.
He collected the 10-second penalty for exceeding the pitlane speed limit but
four safety car interruptions allowed him to carve his way through the field.
The hold-up caused by brother Michael crashing his Ferrari on lap 33 saw
Ralf, who scored Toyota's first point of the year in Malaysia two weeks ago,
leap two places to fifth.
He then took the ailing Honda of Jenson Button and BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld
on lap 38 before holding on for his third spot, 24 seconds behind Kimi
Raikkonen.
"The drive-through penalty was my fault because I accidentally hit the button
twice but I was lucky and because of the safety car period we achieved a lot
more than we ever thought before this weekend," said the German.
"It was a bit of a fight with all the backmarkers in there but after the
third safety car I gained a couple of places which was great."
Team mate Jarno Trulli said he was pleased for Ralf but criticised Red Bull's
David Coulthard for the first lap spin that dumped him out of the race.
"This has been a disastrous weekend for me," said the Italian. "I was
following Coulthard who was going very slowly and zigzagging on the straight.
"I went to the inside to overtake him and I was ahead at the corner but he
just closed the door on me, hitting me in the back. I was surprised by what he
did."