Schu would have helped Rubens

Despite a stirring drive, Brazilian Barrichello finished only fifth as McLaren's Mika Hakkinen handed his team mate David Coulthard third in the closing stages, securing second place in the standings for the Scot. It was Coulthard's best ever placing in the standings.

Schumacher said: "I was going to give the win away to Rubens. But the plan was for him to get past the two Williams first but he did not do that so there was no point in me sacrificing things after that."

Schumacher's victory means he has scored 801 points, breaking Alain Prost's record points total of 798.5. His ninth win of the year at Suzuka also equals the record for number of wins in a year, held by himself and Nigel Mansell. His final tally of 123 points this year is also a record total for a single season and is just seven points short of double Coulthard's total.

"This is the perfect end to the perfect season," said Schumacher. "Despite the records, to finish on a high with first is what you wish to do going into the long winter break."

The German built his victory on a blistering start which saw him move six seconds clear of the field after just two laps due to the superiority of the new Bridgestone tyres. But Schumacher faced a few anxious moment for the next few laps wondering if the Williams-BMW squad was on a one-stop strategy.

"Seeing the gap I wondered if they were on a one stop but when the time stabilised I was pretty sure they were on two like me," he said. "Then it surprised me that we were able to go so far ahead. It's been a good weekend, a good car, a good package and perfect tyres."

For full race results, click here.