Schumacher in happier frame of mind after sixth

BARCELONA, Spain, May 22, 2011 (AFP) - Germany's seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher cut a happier figure after his sixth place here at the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday than after an abject performance a fortnight ago
in Turkey.

The 42-year-old had another impressive start moving from tenth up to sixth place, and said he was pleased to have held his position but admitted that he had struggled with his car's setup.

"We managed to make the most out of our possibilities today which is good news, especially for our guys who I am happy for," he said.

"I had a good start; going right through the middle was tight but fortunately it worked out. Then the race was about holding position from there.

"We can be happy with the result but other than that, it was just tricky with oversteer, tyre degradation and poor balance to deal with.

"Still we achieved what we could have, and I look forward to going to Monaco (next weekend)," added Schumacher, who earlier in the day had refuted claims he would be retiring.

His compatriot and team-mate Nico Rosberg believes a faulty rear wing hampered his chances of a higher-placed finish.
Rosberg, son of Finland's former world champion Keke, started and finished seventh.

Rosberg lost communication with his team and suffered a problem with his car's drag reduction system that meant he was unable to overtake down the long straight.

The 25-year-old, who qualified third in Turkey and had expected to be more competitive during the race, admitted he had been left feeling frustrated. "Unfortunately it was a difficult race for me," said Rosberg. "The radio didn't work so that made it difficult.

"Then my rear wing also broke so I didn't have the overtaking system and it made it very difficult to overtake.

"Otherwise for sure I could've moved up and I'm sure I would've finished a lot closer to the top because I think I had pretty good pace today."

Although Rosberg felt he was held up by Schumacher, he admitted his team was still a long way off the pace of the frontrunners. "I was pretty happy with my car, it felt good."

"I think I had good speed, but there's still a lot of work to do because unfortunately I don't think we really managed to close the gap yet."