M. Schumacher Wins the US GP (updated)

Michael Schumacher and the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro team sprinted back into the lead going into the home stretch of this year’s World Championship standings at the US Grand Prix today, Schumacher heading home team-mate Rubens Barrichello for an impressive Ferrari one-two in front of an F1 record 200,000 spectators at the famous Indianapolis speedway inaugural race.

Although Schumacher had a tough time in the opening laps on a wet track when David Coulthard jumped the start to sandwich the Ferrari between the two McLarens. That tricky situation was resolved when Schumacher made an impressive move to pass Coulthard for the lead at the start of lap 7, then a10-second stop-go penalty for Coulthard on the next lap finally took him out of the lead equation for good.

He still had Hakkinen to worry about and a strong charge by the Finn after he had stopped for dry tyres began to look interesting. He closed the gap from 16 seconds to just four when flames and smoke suddenly shot out the back of the McLaren, Hakkinen limping to the pit lane and perhaps also out of his third World Championship title due to an engine failure. ‘We have two races to go and the fight is still not over,’ said a disappointed Hakkinen after he stepped out of his car, victim to his first mechanical failure since 13 races.

A stop too early for dry tyres by Rubens Barrichello had dropped him well down the field to seventh place by this stage and with Hakkinen gone, Schumacher had the rest of the race to himself, sixteen seconds ahead of his brother Ralf in the Williams, who was also destined to drop out of the picture after pulling out with pneumatic valve pressure problems following a trip across the grass and an unscheduled pit stop.

Schumacher was left with a huge lead, but his race was still a long way from over. ‘The pits were telling me to slow and save the car. It was tough to keep my concentration under those circumstances,’ explained Schumacher, who then gave him and the entire stadium a wake-up call when he spun just four laps from the flag. ‘ I got a wheel on the grass at the first corner and spun. After than I had no trouble keeping my concentration,’ said Schumacher with a smile.

A strong drive by Barrichello saw him pass Heinz-Harald Frentzen’s Jordan for second place when the Jordan driver stopped for fuel and tyres, the Brazilian making it a Ferrari one-two. He eventually finished just twelve seconds behind Schumacher at the end of the 73-lap race; five seconds clear of a delighted Frentzen who had to fight hard for the team’s second podium finish of the season.

Frentzen had to fight all the way for his third place. After losing out to Barrichello he was determined not to do the same with Jacques Villeneuve who had chased him down for most of the race. He got a brief respite when Villeneuve had a quick spin while trying to hold off Barrichello, the Canadian then going off again just before the end of the race as he tried to out-brake Frentzen at the end of the straight.

‘I had set my car up with less wing so I was fast on the straight, but I was struggling through the infield,’ explained Heinz. ‘Even so, Jacques was getting close but when he tried to out-brake me he was a bit optimistic,’ commented Frentzen after Jacques took a trip across the grass. ‘I thought I was OK then with only a few laps to go, but he came back again and I had to fight all the way to the flag. It was a tough race,’ said the German, who hung on by half a second from the BAR-Honda.

Coulthard recovered from his extra stop to claim fifth place and take fastest lap of the race, while BAR scored a double finish in the points when Zonta claimed the final point for sixth.

It had been another disappointing day for Frentzen’s teammate Jarno Trulli who had started from fifth on the grid alongside Jenson Button’s Williams. Button made a move to take Trulli half way around the second lap and the two cars banged rear wheels sending them both off the road with a punctured rear tyre.

Both continued after a pit stop, but Trulli retired on lap 12 with suspension damage caused by the incident and Button pulled off two laps later when his Williams’ BMW engine died.

Schumacher’s 42nd career win, his seventh of the season, now puts him eight points clear of Hakkinen with two races to go. ‘Although I only need to finish second in the next two races, that’s not what we will be aiming for. We cannot think about the title or start to relax until its finally won. We shall be pushing just as hard in the next races as we have in the others as we all know what can happen if you do not,’ explained Schumacher, who is heading back to Italy for more testing before the Japanese GP in two weeks time.

PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS The United States Grand Prix Indiana, Indianapolis; 73 laps; 306.235km; Weather: damp, windy. Classified: Pos Driver Team 1. M.Schumacher Ferrari 1H36:30.883 2. Barrichello Ferrari + 12.118 3. Frentzen Jordan Mugen-Honda + 17.368 4. Villeneuve BAR Honda + 17.935 5. Coulthard McLaren Mercedes + 28.813 6. Zonta BAR Honda + 51.694 7. Irvine Jaguar Cosworth + 1:11.105 8. Diniz Sauber Petronas + 1 Lap 9. Heidfeld Prost Peugeot + 1 Lap 10. Wurz Benetton Playlife + 1 Lap 11. Herbert Jaguar Cosworth + 1 Lap 12. Gene Minardi Fondmetal + 1 Lap Fastest Lap: D.Coulthard, 1:14.711 Not Classified/Retirements: Driver Team On Lap Reason Alesi Prost Peugeot 64 - engine Mazzacane Minardi Fondmetal 59 - engine R.Schumacher Williams BMW 58 - pneumatics de la Rosa Arrows Supertec 45 - gearbox Fisichella Benetton Playlife 44 - engine Verstappen Arrows Supertec 34 - accident Hakkinen McLaren Mercedes 25 - engine Salo Sauber Petronas 18 - spun off Button Williams BMW 14 - engine Trulli Jordan Mugen-Honda 12 - suspension World Championship Standing, Round 15: Drivers: Constructors: 1. M. Schumacher 88 1. Ferrari 143 2. Hakkinen 80 2. McLaren 133 3. Coulthard 63 3. Williams-BMW 34 4. Barrichello 55 4. Benetton-Playlife 20 5. R.Schumacher 24 5. Jordan-Mugen Honda 17 6. Fisichella 18 = BAR-Honda 17 7. Villeneuve 14 7. Arrows 7 8. Frentzen 11 8. Sauber 6 9. Button 10 9. Jaguar 3 10. Trulli 6 = Salo 6 12. Verstappen 5 13. Irvine 3 =. Zonta 3 15. de la Rosa 2 = Wurz 2 All timing unofficial