Schumacher Has Fifth Title Sewn Up, Says Berger

Michael Schumacher's rivals can forget about winning the Formula One world title for another season, at least as far as one of the German's predecessor at Ferrari is concerned.

Austrian Gerhard Berger, head of motorsport at Williams' engine partners BMW, believes the battle to stop the World Champion from collecting a record-equalling fifth title is effectively over.

"Forget the Drivers' Championship. There's just no chance," he told reporters after Schumacher charged untroubled to victory at the Spanish Grand Prix and celebrated his fourth win in five races. The German now leads Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya in the standings by a massive 21 points.

"But you never know what happens. I think we have an outside chance in the Constructors' Championship. But not a real chance," added Berger.

Ferrari have 50 points, all but six scored by Schumacher, while Williams have 43 and McLaren 13.

Last season, Schumacher ran up a record Championship points tally - ending up with 123 and a final lead of 58. This year, he is already eight points ahead of the score he had at the same stage of 2001.

Almost everyone now assumes Schumacher will end up by equalling - probably well before the end of the season - Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio's record of five titles that has stood for almost half a century.

Cautious Side

But the German, who now has a record 57 wins, still showed a cautious side on Sunday.

Asked whether he could see Ferrari's domination being threatened, other than by problems of reliability, he answered: "Honestly, yes.

"This is basically the same car we had in Brazil and I thought we had a very close battle there. So you have circuits which really favour us and circuits which are very close. There will be circuits which are much more difficult for us."

Berger, the last driver signed by Enzo Ferrari before his death in 1988, saw Schumacher oust him from the record books on Sunday with the most starts for the team and he was quick to congratulate him.

"I have to say I am a big fan of Michael's because the success he has is unbelievable," he said.

"Having such continued success over such a long time is not just down to the materials, it's also himself. He is doing a fantastic job on the circuit and also motivating his people and leading them in the right direction.

"Ferrari just have a strong package at the moment, there is nothing secret about it. It is just the result of working very hard, having the right people, putting the right commitment in."

Williams have been Ferrari's rivals all season, with McLaren trailing at a distance, and Berger did not see that changing soon either.

"You never should underestimate your competitor, they can come back very quick," he said. "But if they (McLaren) have been behind us on this circuit it is going to be even more difficult at circuits like this or Canada."