SEPANG - Ralf Schumacher broke Ferrari's stranglehold in the Malaysian Grand Prix in Sebang yesterday after his Williams team-mate, Juan Pablo Montoya, wrecked his older brother Michael's chances at the first corner.
Ralf seized the fourth win of his career after Montoya collided with Michael Schumacher, Ferrari's four-times world champion, and
took off his front wing.
Colombian Montoya was penalised by the stewards for the incident, which sent the older Schumacher from pole position to the back of the field.
Montoya fought his way back to finish runner-up, 39.7s behind Ralf.
Michael Schumacher, who won the first race of the season, in Australia, eventually finished third, depriving Renault's young Briton Jenson Button of the first podium of his career on the final lap.
Button was fourth, Germany's Nick Heidfeld fifth in a Sauber and his 20-year-old Brazilian team-mate, Felipe Massa, followed in sixth place on a hot, humid day.
The Williams one-two marked the first time that a driver from any team other than Ferrari or McLaren had finished on the podium in Malaysia.
Ferrari had won every Malaysian Grand Prix since the first in 1999 and Michael Schumacher, triumphant in 2000 and a rain-hit race last year, is the sole driver to start at Sepang in pole position.
But this time it did the German little good.
He moved sharply across, as he so often does, to block Montoya at the start but the Colombian refused to back off and tried to outbrake him into the first turn.
The Ferrari and Montoya's right front wheel came together, an incident deemed an avoidable collision by the race director.
Montoya was forced later to drive through the pits as a sanction.
McLaren, who qualified behind both the Ferraris and Williams, had a miserable afternoon, with both their cars out of the race before the halfway mark, David Coulthard retiring on lap 16, and team-mate Kimi Raikkonen on lap 25.
