Analysis: Schumacher Enjoys his Record Collection

Ferrari's Michael Schumacher is so successful that he even has a record number of Formula One records.

There are not many records that the Red Baron does not possess, although he was never the youngest race winner and is unlikely to be the oldest unless he continues until he is 53, but most of the big numbers belong to him.

And the most coveted record of them all should also be his by Sunday evening.

Schumacher, 34, equalled Juan Manuel Fangio's record of five World Championships last year and the sixth will be his at Suzuka, barring the sort of upset that Formula One has never yet witnessed.

The German needs just one point - and he may not even need that if McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen fails to win - to overtake a record that has stood since the late Argentine's last Championship in 1957.

If the German does not become Champion yet again, the situation will still be unprecedented since no driver has ever seen such a lead overturned in the final race.

However Schumacher will have to share Fangio's status as the only drivers to take four titles in a row. He will have to win again next year to claim a straight five.

He is already running out of other milestones to pass and will have to look at improving his own records if he really does continue to the end of his Ferrari contract in 2006.

Senna's Poles

The next big one will be Ayrton Senna's mark of 65 pole positions, Schumacher having 55, although rule changes since the late Brazilian was king of qualifying make comparisons complicated.

Schumacher needs another season like 2002, when he won a record 11 out of 17 races and finished every one on the podium - another first - if he is to keep the pressure on Fangio's average points scoring record.

The Argentine won 24 of his 51 races, for an average of 5.44 points per race. Schumacher has won 70 in 193 starts with a points average of 5.37.

Schumacher has of course scored more points than any other driver, although more are available now than in the old days. His tally of 1,037 eclipses the next best haul of 798.50 racked up by four-times champion Alain Prost.

He also has the record for the most points scored in a single season - 144 last year - and the most successive races in the points (24, from Hungary 2001 to Malaysia 2003).

His wins are another record that could stand the test of time, like Fangio's titles. Schumacher already has 19 more than Prost and has been more successful at Ferrari than any other driver the scarlet Scuderia has ever employed.

The German has most fastest laps (56) and, until China and Bahrain come in next year, is the only driver to have won at every circuit on the current calendar.

He has more podium finishes (122) than any other driver, more successive podiums (19) and the largest Championship-winning points margin (67 last year). Last year's title, won in France with six races to spare, was also the fastest.

Arcane Achievements

The search is now on for even more arcane records, stretching the statistics to find something that Schumacher has not been first in or best at. There are some, but many are under threat.

For example, Schumacher will be the first driver in Formula One history to have won three different Grands Prix six times each if he wins again in Japan on Sunday.

If he takes pole position, he will equal Senna's record of seven poles at the same circuit. And if he wins from pole, he will surpass Senna's career record of 29 win-pole doubles.

Perhaps it is easier to look at those records that Schumacher can never beat.

Spaniard Fernando Alonso, who won in Hungary for Renault this year at the age of 22, should stand for some time as Formula One's youngest winner.

Italian Luigi Fagioli was 53 when he won the 1951 French Grand Prix for Alfa Romeo, sharing his car with Fangio.

Fangio was 46 when he won his last title.

Schumacher also has some way to go before he has started the most races. Italian Riccardo Patrese competed in 256.

It will be interesting also to see how Schumacher reacts when he has the sixth title.

In the past, he has said that statistics mean little to him and are something he will have more time to enjoy when he retires - whenever that may be.

"It is the pure fun of F1, racing and having four wheels around me," he said last year of a thrill that shows no signs of diminishing. "Records are nice but then, if you have achieved them, what is left? It is not that situation that really pushes me. It is simply to win each race, to do my best."