Analysis: Cool Schumacher Handles the Heat

Michael Schumacher kept his cool at the Austrian Grand Prix today even as flames flickered around his Ferrari.

The Formula One World Champion, his helmet visor speckled with foam, did not miss a beat as he roared back on track to win the race after mechanics scrambled to extinguish a minor fuel spillage flare-up during his first pitstop.

"I guess the mechanics felt I was a little bit too cold and wanted to warm me up," joked the five times champion after the scare. "Anyway, I thought they did a great job under the circumstances to still control everything and the car kept surviving."

Schumacher admitted he had wondered whether the F2003-GA had suffered any damage but he swiftly reeled off a few quick laps to dispel any doubts. Afterwards, he played down the whole incident.

"I was watching around what was going on, seeing the fire is not nice but I felt the guys reacted very well with the extinguishers," he said.

Apart from playing with fire as a schoolboy, Schumacher struggled to recall an incident in his driving career in which he had been too hot for comfort.

Then he remembered one: "In Macau in Formula Three, I had a little fire in the cockpit but you sort of know that you have protection," he said.

"You have the overalls, you know you can survive for a little while. I didn't feel heavily concerned honestly," he added, referring to Sunday's race.

"If I had seen fuel splashing around and the fire, then it would have been a different story, as we saw with Jos in 1994 in Hockenheim, but that didn't seem to be the circumstances."

Dutchman Jos Verstappen was Schumacher's Benetton teammate in 1994 when his car was engulfed with flames at the German Grand Prix as fuel spilled out during a pitstop. The driver escaped without serious injury.

Sunday's incident was minor and Schumacher was left to bask in the warmth of the crowd, their applause replacing the angry heat of last year when he won an infamous race marred by Ferrari ordering teammate Rubens Barrichello to move over at the finish.

On Sunday the German let off steam afterwards, saluting the fans and spraying the Champagne freely after his third win in a row left him two points off the championship lead.