With rain sheeting horizontally across Germany's Eifel mountains yesterday, Michael Schumacher demonstrated why he's earned the soubriquet "the rain king". He sublimely negotiated the floods and streams of the Nurburgring to take his fourth victory of the season at the European Grand Prix, leaving the twin McLarens of Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard struggling in his wake.

The German finished 14 seconds ahead of Hakkinen and a full lap ahead of Coulthard.

"This is one of the best days of my life," said an ecstatic Schumacher afterwards. "It's the first time I've won in Germany with Ferrari and that's fantastic."

With the McLarens second and third, the Ferrari number one's 39th career win sees him move into a comfortable 18-point lead over Hakkinen in the drivers' title race, and gives him a 22-point gap to third-placed Coulthard.

Yesterday's fourth-place finish for Schumacher's team-mate Rubens Barrichello also moves Ferrari into a 10-point lead over McLaren in the constructors' championship.

Hakkinen was left admitting he needed more practice in wet conditions with a car he has described as difficult. "I was happy about my performance in the rain but we just have to get better. The season will be close and very tough and we can expect more wet races."

Jordan's Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Jarno Trulli never got to wipe the first drops of rain from their visors, with both drivers exiting the race within three laps of the start. Trulli clashed with Benetton's Giancarlo Fisichella into the first turn and emerged from the incident with a severely damaged suspension. Limping into the gravel, the Italian was forced to abandon the race.

"I was lucky to keep driving as otherwise it would have been very dangerous. I am obviously very disappointed as we knew we were capable of having a really good result here," he said. Frentzen's engine suddenly let go half way through the third lap.

The German admitted the weekend of his 33rd birthday had been thoroughly unpleasant. "I was feeling in control, running on a high fuel load which was our strategy decision, when my engine blew. All we can do is put the race behind us," he said.

Eddie Irvine, by contrast, was right on course to secure Jaguar's first points of the year until, attempting to see off a challenge to his seventh place from Arrows' Jos Verstappen, he lost control and collided with the Dutchman.

"Initially when I looked in the mirrors the car looked fine," he sad, "but obviously the rear wing was gone. I tried to carry on to bring it back to the pits but I lost the back end and ended up in the gravel.

Jordan's disastrous afternoon has seen them drop to fifth in the constructors' championship.