Analysis: Record-Breaker Schuey, Man for All Seasons

Michael Schumacher was in a race of his own again on Sunday as he re-wrote the Formula One record books on his way to an historic victory in a dramatic and crash-hit Belgian Grand Prix.

As so often in his 10 years at the top of motor racing, the 32-year-old German was competing against himself and the danger of losing concentration as he steered his Ferrari to an almost flawless and memorable triumph, his 52nd in 159 Grands Prix since his debut on the same Spa-Francorchamps circuit in 1991.

Typically, too, he admitted to one moment of near-madness when he was caught fiddling with the control buttons in the cockpit of his car and almost lost control at Stavelot.

"I was tuning the car from the inside and I just missed the apex a little and ran wide," Schumacher said. "I didn't expect a problem but then, when I was sitting on the kerb, I lost control of the steering for a while and I was a bit scared of going into the wall. But, luckily, I got out of it."

It was a typical Schumacher moment. Typically honest, too. And typical also in that he should be fiddling around, looking for extra performance from his car, while winning his favourite race for the fifth time in 10 attempts in a decade since his maiden outing with the Jordan team in August 1991.

The victory, by a margin far greater than that reflected in the 10 seconds advantage he held over second-placed Briton David Coulthard at the finish, was his eighth of a year in which he has won the drivers' title for a fourth time and hoisted him clear of Frenchman Alain Prost as the biggest outright winner ever.

Yet, as a notoriously poor student of Formula One history, Schumacher admitted he was not overwhelmed by the fact that he had, in some observers' eyes, just become the greatest driver in the sport.

Good Feeling

"To have 52 wins is a good feeling," he said. "It is not fair to say I am not interested, at all, in statistics. I am. They do not have the first priority but they do mean something to me. It means something to me to have this number on my account.

"Actually I am delighted about it but I know I will be much more delighted one day when I am sitting on my sofa, retired, and I have a cigar and a beer in my hand and I can think about it."

If such a notion seems far-fetched now, when Schumacher is seen as a racing machine and one of the fittest men in sport, it should be remembered that he knows how to 'let his hair down' when the occasion arises.

But when he has retired he will always be remembered, too, for his special association with Spa-Francorchamps where he made his maiden Formula One appearance in 1991, won his first race, in 1992, was disqualified after winning in 1994, won again in 1995, 1996 and 1997 and then led by a distance in 1998 before an enforced retirement removed him from the fray. He also finished second in 1993 and 2000.

All this adds up to something more than a special relationship.

It is a dauntingly extraordinary and productive affair, that of Schumacher and Spa, because the circuit is nearer to his family home in Kerpen than any other on the calendar and because legions of his countrymen camp out amid the rain-soaked pine forests for days to cheer him on.

"It is a special place, for me, and everyone knows it is my favourite circuit," explained Schumacher. "Spa is a traditional place, one of the few left. Monte Carlo and this one represent something special, they have high value to the drivers, at least in my view, and to win here is special.

"I have lots of memories, too, in my 10 years. For me, it is outstanding. To win the 52nd race here gives me extra satisfaction."

Demonstration Drive

The spectators who witnessed another Schumacher demonstration drive on Sunday would have to agree. There was never any threat of another winner and even Eddie Jordan, the man who signed him to plug a hole in his team when he was struggling for sponsors, money and the right drivers in 1991, applauded his achievements.

Jordan, of course, kept Schumacher for only that one race. His sensational performance in qualifying, in which he took seventh place on the grid, marked him out as something special and by the following race, the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, he had been lured away to Benetton who took advantage of a loophole in Schumacher's agreement.

"Michael was in a league of his own today," Jordan said. "I'd really like to say well done to him for making history 10 years on from his debut Grand Prix at this race."

Unfortunately, on a day marred by the serious accident which caused Luciano Burti of Brazil to be evacuated to hospital in Liege from the circuit, the previous record-holder, Prost, was not around to add his congratulations. Burti was driving a Prost car when he slammed into the barriers at Blanchimont and the Frenchman was effectively too shocked to comment.

Schumacher, like Prost, was quick to think of Burti and his condition. As his Ferrari teammate Rubens Barrichello left to visit his fellow Brazilian in hospital, the German quadruple champion admitted he had found out how he was during the afternoon.

"I am glad he was not hurt," he said. "I was told he was all right before the second start, so we knew he was conscious."

As champion and senior spokesman for the drivers, it was Schumacher's role to talk about safety. But at Monza, on September 16, he will be leading a party as Ferrari celebrate their success and his record-breaking year.