Mercedes laments Schumacher strategy

Mercedes boss Ross Brawn admitted that the team has made an error on strategy with Michael Schumacher after the German missed out on points in the Canadian Grand Prix.

A long final stint on the softer Bridgestone tyres proved to the undoing of the seven-time champion as he struggled for grip and dropped out of the points - slipping from eighth place to finish eleventh despite some robust defensive moves in the closing stages.

Schumacher's planned strategy had been changed after he suffered a puncture while dicing for position with Renault's Robert Kubica and Brawn admitted that he revised strategy hadn't gone according to plan.

"Michael was looking strong in the first phase of the race and was very well-placed," he said. "Unfortunately the incident with Kubica punctured the right front tyre and coming in for the extra stop meant we were out of phase with where we wanted to be with the tyres.

"With hindsight, it was over-ambitious to try and get the option to last as long as we did and Michael really struggled towards the end. We've come away with some points from the weekend [from Nico Rosberg in sixth] but not as many as we would have hoped."

Schumacher himself admitted that there were still positives to take away from the weekend even though he was disappointed to miss out on a points finish.

"I was trying as hard as I could to defend myself but it was only possible to a certain degree and my tyres were just ruined after having done more than half the race distance," he said. "I was fighting cars with a good top speed which was quite tough. Otherwise I would have been in a good position I think, so we have something to take away to the next races."