The Hindu : Sport : Schumacher draws level with Alonso

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Tuesday, Oct 03, 2006
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Schumacher draws level with Alonso

PHOTO: AFP

GREAT COMEBACK: Michael Schumacher came from behind to win the Chinese Grand Prix.

SHANGHAI: With two races to go, Formula One's season couldn't be any closer.

Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher's victory on Sunday in the Chinese Grand Prix puts him level with Renault's defending champion Fernando Alonso at 116 points each.

Alonso was second and Renault teammate Giancarlo Fisichella third, in a race that started out wet and whose outcome was largely determined by tire choices on a drying track.

Renault's second and third place finishes, meanwhile, puts it one point ahead of Ferrari 179-178 in the race for the constructor's championship.

It all comes down to what happens later this month in Japan and Brazil.

``We need everyone out there to cross their fingers for us and then we'll get it,'' said Schumacher, who before Sunday's race had whittled Alonso's 25-point lead to just two.

Alonso had the pole in Shanghai, but lost the lead on the 31st lap. He struggled back to finish second, just ahead of Fisichella.

With the margins of victory and defeat so tight, the championship could be decided on the subtlest of decisions by team technicians. That was underscored on Sunday when Ferrari's choice of tires and the timing of its tire changes gave it a clear edge over Renault.

``We found the right moment to change to dry tires and we had enough of a gap to drive it safely home,'' Schumacher said.

If the season ends in a tie, the winner will be the one with the most victories, which would currently be Schumacher, seven to six. If Alonso picks up another win and it's still a tie, it will go to whoever has the most second place finishes, which, at present is Alonso, six to four.

After morning showers drenched the track, the rain paused for the start with both Renaults on the front row for the third time this season.

Moving smoothly away from the field, Alonso had a gap of 11.5 seconds over Fisichella after 10 laps, while Schumacher languished in fifth, more than 20 seconds behind the leading trio.

After the first pit stops from laps 20 to 22, Alonso maintained a lead of 10 seconds but he clearly had trouble with his front tires, losing seconds with each lap.

By lap 29, three cars were within a few lengths of each other when Fisichella and Schumacher passed Alonso.

After both Schumacher and Fisichella pitted, Schumacher found himself bearing down on Fisichella as the Renault driver emerged from the pit lane, passing him on the inside of the first turn in a sparkling maneuver with two wheels on the grass.

Fisichella made a move to try and keep the inside line, but it was too late. He and his car were too slow to react, and Schumacher was past and into the lead.

``It was clear that turn one would be difficult, I knew from practice. I was thinking it could be an issue with Giancarlo and there it was,'' Schumacher said.

Alonso whittled the gap to 3.1 seconds by the end, but Schumacher already had the victory in hand.

``In the end, there were not enough laps left,'' said Alonso. ``So it was a bad day but this is a fantastic fight for the championship and I got to Japan feeling really confident.''

Sunday's win was the 91st of Schumacher's career and his fifth in the last seven races.

Honda's Jenson Button finished fourth, McLaren's Pedro de la Rosa fifth, Honda's Rubens Barrichello sixth, BMW-Sauber's Nick Heidfeld seventh and Williams' Mark Webber eighth.

McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen made a strong start and had climbed to second after 15 laps, but was forced to exit the race in the 18th lap with car trouble.

``I don't know exactly what happened, but all of a sudden the throttle didn't react correctly and the engine went into safety mode and selected neutral,'' said Raikkonen, who had been looking for a strong showing after taking second and third in the previous two Chinese Grands Prix. McLaren remains third in the constructors title race. -- AP

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