Ralf Schumacher beat his brother to the strategic punch yesterday to claim his second career grand prix win on a day when Jordan were again ko'd by lady luck, Jarno Trulli being forced to surrender a potential three points just six laps from home. Jordan have been under the cosh in recent races, the Irish squad not recording a finish since Trulli's solid fourth in Barcelona six weeks ago.
That was the last in a sequence of results that seemed to be heralding an end to Jordan travails but since then Trulli has been disqualified and had a hydraulics failure, while team-mate Heinz-Harald Frentzen has succumbed to a gearbox failure in Austria and that accident in Monaco that last Saturday ruled him out of this race with illness after further injuring himself in a free practice shunt at the Circuit Gilles Villenueve's Pont de la Concorde turn.
A weekend going rapidly south appeared to be rescued in qualifying on Saturday when Trulli staged a remarkable show to take fourth place on the grid and seemed to be swinging in Jordan's favour when Trulli held that fourth after the start and cemented himself into the three-point spot as the attrition rate put paid to the hopes of his nearest challengers, Rubens Barrichello and BAR's Olivier Panis.
After pitting on lap 38, Trulli retook fourth and in the garage the Jordan team prepared to welcome home the Italian and the three points that would taken them four points clear of Honda rivals BAR - Jacques Villeneuve and Olivier Panis having already retired. But once again just as Jordan looked to be boxing clever, they were sucker-punched as the fight went towards the final round.
Six laps from home, Trulli cruised towards the pits and turned into the garage, forced out with Montreal's most pernicious affliction, brake failure, this time caused by a hydraulic problem.
"I made a good start and was having a strong race up in the top six for the entire time," Trulli said. "Unfortunately, for the last 10 laps or so, I just couldn't push anymore as there was a problem with the brakes which caused me to retire six laps from the end."
It was, in some respects, a better - if not profitable - afternoon for stand-in team-mate Ricardo Zonta. The Jordan test-driver qualified 12th and made his way home to take seventh place just behind Pedro De la Rosa who scored Jaguar's second points in a row. "It felt great to compete in a grand prix again, particularly as the racing was so good," said the Brazilian.
"Both Jarno and Ricardo drove a very strong and solid race," Eddie Jordan said, "but again we failed to score points due to reliability problems. It's a great shame as we need points and should have taken them today. It's so important now that we work hard to iron out these issues."
The Schumachers, though, were untouchable, conducting their own race some 20 seconds ahead of the pursuing Mika Hakkinen, who took his first podium finish since Japan last year.
Michael Schumacher appeared to be on course for a fifth Montreal win, but, after pitting from the lead on lap 46, brother Ralf rattled off four consecutive fastest laps to give himself a comfortable margin over his brother as he dived into the pits five laps later.
He emerged four seconds in front of the Ferrari and, despite a brief fightback by Michael, cruised to take his second-ever win and his second of the season, the Williams driver having taken maximum points at Imola in April.
