Schumacher takes race in Canada

German driver Michael Schumacher, front takes a turn on his final lap, followed by brother Ralf Schumacher, before the pair took first and second place for Ferrari and BMW Willams respectively, at the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada, on Sunday. PHOTO: AFP

Michael Schumacher won for the fourth time this season and passed Kimi Raikkonen for the lead in the driver standings by winning the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday.

"This was a tough and tricky race, so the outcome is good," Schumacher said. "And it's always important to go into the lead and try to get as many points as you can.

"The season is going to be a long one and we knew that from the beginning and we've sort of had confirmation by now that it will be a tough fight to the end."

It's been tough on Schumacher all season because of rules changes the FIA made in an attempt to even out competition a year after Schumacher and teammate Rubens Barrichello teamed to win 15 of 17 races in a Ferrari domination.

The Ferrari's struggled at the start of the season and the 23-year-old Raikkonen took over the lead in the driver standings and brought a four-point advantage over Schumacher into the race.

But Schumacher has been steadily chipping away, even though the gap has clearly been closed by the competition -- proven Sunday when the top four finished nose to tail, only 4.3 seconds apart -- a rarity in F1.

"That's the ideal result, obviously," Schumacher said.