began to pull away. Meanwhile, Coulthard was struggling in ninth, McLaren's gamble having backfired. As the weather appeared to improve, the team brought him and fourth-placed Räikkönen in to change back to slicks. This too did not pay off, as the rain in fact got heavier, and after changing back to wets again, the McLarens toiled at the back of the field, leading Coulthard to experiment with Michelin's underdeveloped Intermediates for a small stint, but confirming they were not any more competitive than the wets. Coulthard eventually finished two laps behind Schumacher while Räikkönen retired on lap 45 with an engine failure. The tyre issue also affected the Renaults, Trulli and Jenson Button running in the points before making three stops apiece. Trulli dropped out on lap 30 with an electrical problem, before Button suffered a suspension failure on lap 55. Up at the front, Schumacher led Barrichello by 13 seconds at half-distance. By this point, the Ferraris were so far ahead that Barrichello retained an advantage of over half a minute over third-placed Montoya following a spin on lap 33. By making one fewer stop, Montoya managed to catch up with the Brazilian and overtake him on lap 41, but Barrichello repassed him five laps later and pulled away again. Ralf Schumacher benefitted from the misfortunes of the McLarens and the Renaults to regain fourth, only to have another pit stop go wrong when his fuel rig failed. This left four more Bridgestone drivers – Villeneuve, Heidfeld, Olivier Panis in the second BAR and Giancarlo Fisichella in the Jordan – occupying fourth to seventh. Michael Schumacher eventually took the chequered flag 14.5 seconds ahead of Barrichello, with Montoya a further 17 seconds back and the last man on the lead lap. Villeneuve and Panis took fourth and fifth, securing BAR's first points of the season, while Heidfeld held off Fisichella for the final point. This was Schumacher's seventh victory of the season and his 60th in all, and it extended his lead in the Drivers' Championship to 54 points – meaning that he could secure his fifth title at the next race, in France, with six races still to run. Schumacher set the record for most podium finishes with his 107th. Barrichello moved into second in the standings, one point ahead of Montoya and two ahead of Ralf Schumacher. Race classification Championship standings after the race Drivers' Championship standings