It was a case of lucky number seven for Michael Schumacher as he broke yet another record with victory in the Canadian Grand Prix.

The unstoppable Ferrari star became the first driver to win a race seven times as Schumacher has previously been triumphant at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in 1994, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2002 and 2003.

It was the 77th win of Schumacher's career and his seventh this season as he chases down what will be his seventh world title.

After standing on top of the podium yet again, maybe the 35-year-old should head across to the nearby Casino de Montreal around which this track runs on the Ile Notre-Dome and put a few dollars on number seven at the roulette table - his number would surely come up.

After starting sixth on the grid, Ferrari adopted the perfect race strategy as both Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello - who did start seventh - made two stops compared to three for their rivals.

It was eventually a Schumacher one-two as younger brother Ralf came home second in his Williams-BMW after starting on pole for his best finish of what has been an unhappy season by his standards, the younger sibling finishing just a second adrift.

They were joined on the podium by Rubens Barrichello, who at one point gave his Ferrari team-mate a run for his money as they were tussling for the lead midway through the race, and who now trails Michael by 18 points in the drivers' championship.

Jenson Button again finished in the points with fourth in his BAR, but is nine points behind Barrichello and 27 behind Schumacher, with Juan Pablo Montoya fifth in the second Williams-BMW.

They were followed by the Sauber of Giancarlo Fisichella, Kimi Raikkonen in his McLaren in a season-high seventh and Cristiano da Matta eighth in the Toyota.

Overall, it proved another poor weekend for McLaren as David Coulthard's race effectively came to an end at the first chicane as the Scot, who had started ninth on the grid and finished ninth, spun and was relegated towards the back of the field.

The incident also accounted for the Jaguar of Mark Webber for team-mate Christian Klien hit Coulthard, bounced in the air and landed on the Australian, resulting in a puncture to his right-front tyre and an eventual retirement on lap eight.

In the end, it could have been so much better for Raikkonen, but his challenge faded inside 20 laps when he was given a drive-through time penalty for crossing over the white line at the pit lane exit - a rookie mistake from an experienced driver.

For Renault, the race proved their worst this year, with neither car finishing for the first time in eight grands prix as Jarno Trulli inexplicably limped out at the first bend within seconds of the start.

In a mirror image of that moment, Fernando Alonso pulled over at the same corner at the start of lap 45 when he was running in a points-scoring finish, and potentially a podium place.

Renault remain second in the constructors' championship, but they trail Ferrari by an astonishing 61 points.