Michael Schumacher said he did not know whether to laugh or cry after finishing one place off the podium in Sunday’s chaotic Canadian Grand Prix.

Schumacher started eighth, but after some impressive driving at a very wet Gilles Villeneuve circuit, the 42-year-old Mercedes driver found himself in second place.

However, as the track began to dry, he was unable to fend off rivals Jenson Button of McLaren and Mark Webber of Red Bull and eventually finished fourth.

The seven-time world champion, and seven times winner in Montreal, admitted he was disappointed to have missed out on what would have been his first podium since his return to Formula One last year.

“I am leaving this race with one eye laughing and one eye crying,” said Schumacher. “I am not sure if I should be excited or sad about it.

“Having been in second place towards the end, I would obviously have loved to finish there and be on the podium again, but even if it did not work out in the very end, we can be happy about the result and the big fight we put in.”

His Mercedes team-mate and German compatriot Nico Rosberg was left to rue a mistake that cost him a points-scoring position.

The 25-year-old was in sixth place with four laps remaining, but collided with Sauber driver Kamui Kobayashi at the hairpin and wound up in eleventh place.

Rosberg admitted that his mistake had cost him and believes he could have finished in a better position if he had adopted a more aggressive strategy earlier in the race.

He said: “It was a very demanding race this afternoon. In general, everything was okay with my car and, at the end, I was up there in the points but I made a mistake at the hairpin on lap 66.

“I was trying to overtake Kobayashi and was very close behind him in turn 10; he slowed when I didn’t expect it. I hit the back of him and damaged my front wing, which then came off on the last lap.

“I could perhaps have been a little more aggressive with some of my stops today, pitting a little earlier, but it’s always difficult to judge the risk.”