The Hindu : Sport / Racing : Motor : No stopping Michael Schumacher

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jul 05, 2004

Sport

Sport - Racing : Motor

No stopping Michael Schumacher

MAGNY COURS, JULY 4. Ferrari's Michael Schumacher held off a strong challenge from the Renault team to win the French Grand Prix on Sunday for his ninth victory in 10 Formula One races this season.

However, the Renault team led by Spaniard Fernando Alonso could take some satisfaction in ending Ferrari's string of three straight 1-2 finishes.

Alonso, a rising star on the Formula One circuit who held the pole position, finished second, 8.3 seconds behind Schumacher.

Schumacher's Brazilian teammate Rubens Barrichello, despite starting from the 10th position, passed Renault's Jarno Trulli of Italy on the final lap to place third.

For Schumacher, the victory was the German's seventh in the French GP, and 79th in his career on the Formula One circuit.

Alonso and Trulli are the only non-Ferrari drivers to win F1 races since last August. Alonso won the Hungarian GP in August 2003, and Tulli won the Monaco GP in May.

Fifth place went to BAR-Honda's Jenson Button of Britain. Scotsman David Coulthard and Finn Kimi Raikkonen, in the new model of the McLaren-Mercedes, were sixth and seventh, respectively.

Schumacher now has 90 points for the season, followed by Barrichello with 67 points. Button is the best non-Ferrari driver with 48 points, just ahead of Trulli.

On a clear, sunny day after rain threatened the previous two days, Schumacher won again with his pit-stop strategy, taking the lead on the 33rd of the 70 laps run on the 4.411-kilometre (2.74-mile) Nevers-Magny Cours circuit.

Alonso held the lead through the first pit stops, but Schumacher stayed close enough and overtook him on the second round of pit stops.

Schumacher was trailing by less than a second when he went in at the end of lap 29. He came out and did two fast laps while waiting for Alonso to pit. The Renault driver came in on the 32nd lap.

Schumacher moved into first and had a three-second lead a lap later.

Schumacher stretched his lead throughout the next pit stops at the end of 42 laps. He even had the luxury of going in for an extra pit stop at the end of 58 laps and stayed ahead.

There are eight races left in the season and Schumacher is edging closer to his seventh world driving title.

His brother, Ralf Schumacher, won last year's French Grand Prix at Magny Cours but missed this year's race after suffering two cracked vertebrae in his back in a crash at the U.S. Grand Prix on June 20. He will be sidelined until at least September.

Ralf Schumacher's place on the Williams-BMW team for Sunday's race was taken by Spain's Marc Gene, who drove two years for Minardi before becoming the test driver for Williams.

Also this weekend, Max Mosley announced that he intends to step down from his post as president of the International Auto Federation in October. Before he leaves, he is looking to change the regulations to reduce speed and increase safety for tires, engines and aerodynamics by 2006.

The British Grand Prix is next week as the teams finish an intense period of six races since May 23.

The results (Top 10): 1. Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) 1:30:18.133s, 2. Fernando Alonso (Renault), 3. Rubens Barrichello (Fer), 4. Jarno Trulli (Renault), 5. Jenson Button (BAR), 6. David Coulthard (McLaren), 7. Kimi Räikkönen (McLaren), 8. Juan Pablo Montoya (Williams), 9. Mark Webber (Jaguar), 10. Marc Gene (Williams). — Agencies.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport