Analysis: Whatever the Strategy, Count on Schumacher

Whatever the strategy, Michael Schumacher just keeps on winning.

The British Grand Prix offered a fresh twist on Sunday as Ferrari's World Champion cruised to his 10th victory in 11 races this season, and the 80th of a record-breaking career, without overtaking anyone.

In France, eight days ago, the German was triumphant after making four planned stops - usually only something that happens by accident or punishment - where his closest rivals settled for three.

At Silverstone, Ferrari outfoxed the rest again with Schumacher making two stops to the standard three.

Who knows what the team will come up with at Hockenheim in Germany next week, although local critics had a suggestion or two as they stifled their yawns on Monday.

"It might be a good idea if Schumacher makes only one pitstop and, instead of just rolling out four new tyres, his mechanics might like to erect a garden table and deckchair and make a nice pot of tea for their leader," commented the Times newspaper.

He would probably still win even then.

But while commentators were busy beating their breasts about the state of Formula One and the lack of real opposition to the 'Red Baron', Schumacher remained implacable and saw no reason for complacency.

"If you look at the beginning of the season, in Australia I think we could have taken any strategy and we would have won," he said after the race. "That's not possible anymore, simply because the others have picked up.

Natural Caution

That may be just the man's natural caution coming through.

Ferrari blew their rivals away in the first race in Melbourne, just as the likes of Williams and McLaren were expecting the World Champions to falter, and have been pretty much dominant ever since.

Schumacher has won every race he has finished - the only blemish being Monaco where he emerged from the tunnel driving a red three-wheeler after a collision behind the safety car with Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya.

Formula One has no more tunnels to contend with this year and the prospect of Schumacher leading a 'red wash' of the rest of the season remains very real.

But McLaren are clawing their way back after a nightmare start to the season, as Kimi Raikkonen's second place at Silverstone demonstrated.

The signs are that McLaren will be the ones troubling the leaders most for the second half of the season, although BAR and Renault have also pushed the Italians in recent races, and Ferrari will have to keep up the strategic creativity.

"I don't honestly know what they expected us to do," Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn said of his team's rivals on Sunday. "But what we have to try and do is get out of phase with the others, so that we can use our car properly."

Schumacher knew from the start on Sunday, even as Raikkonen streaked off from pole position into an early lead and the German was stuck behind BAR's Jenson Button, that he had a winning strategy.

"I knew what strategy I was on so I wasn't concerned about that," he said.

"I just had to sit and wait because I knew the strategy I had so there was no need for overdoing anything. Then I had a free circuit and I just used my car and the potential I had and that was obviously working very well."