Traffic frustrates seventh-placed Schumacher

Michael Schumacher blamed traffic on his fastest lap for leaving him only seventh in qualifying for today�s Australian Grand Prix.The seven-time world champion had hoped for a good showing in his Mercedes GP car following an unconvincing return to the sport at the Bahrain Grand Prix where he finished sixth.He had to be content with a spot at the front of the fourth row, but was annoyed at being held up by Fernando Alonso�s Ferrari on his final fast lap of the session.

�I am OK with the outcome even if I was a bit handicapped by traffic, especially on my final quick lap,� he said.The German confronted Alonso after the session and he confirmed he had talked to Charlie Whiting, the FIA�s (Federation Internationale de l�Automobile) race director, about the rules and regulations for drivers being held up by slower cars.�I had a conversation with Charlie about it because I wanted to know what are the guidelines here and whether the rules have changed a little bit to what they used to be,� he said.

Despite his frustration at being blocked, Schumacher acknowledged that the Mercedes car was still a little off the pace of the Red Bulls and the Ferraris at the front of the field.�We made some changes with the car after practice this morning which did not work out perfectly,� he said. �But in general I would guess the ranking that we see now reflects the situation well and our performance is probably the maximum for our car at the moment.�

For the second successive race, Schumacher was out-paced by Nico Rosberg, his teammate, who lines up one spot ahead of him on the grid in sixth place despite being less than happy with his performance.He said: �I made a couple of mistakes on my best lap on the option tyres which cost me three or four tenths [of a second].�There was more in the car today so it�s always frustrating when you don�t get the most out of it. It�s not typical for me to make such mistakes in qualifying.

�But that�s the way it goes sometimes and sixth position is still a good place to start.�gcaygill@thenational.ae