Schumacher Proves to be Human After All

Michael Schumacher is as famous for his cool self-control as his brilliant driving, but on Sunday he demonstrated that he, too, is human, after winning the Italian Grand Prix for Ferrari.

On a day when a young fire marshall was killed in a first lap accident, Schumacher revived his challenge for Ferrari's first drivers' world title in 21 years by grabbing his 41st win to equal the total of the late, great Brazilian Ayrton Senna.

But in his hour of victory he was unable to supply the normal service of cold analysis of his driving and, when confronted by the live television cameras for the normal post-race interviews, was overcome by emotion.

He broke down and could not answer questions. Weeping, he dropped his head while the camera switched to other drivers sitting with him.

Human After All

After 142 races, two world titles and those 41 wins, it was the first public evidence that the man who has such metronomic control of his car during races and race weekends suffers stress and has emotional levels that can crack.

In short, Schumacher is human after all.

Schumacher, of course, was not aware of the death of 30-year-old volunteer fire marshall Paolo Ghilimberti, the first fatality at a Formula One meeting since Ayrton Senna died at Imola on May 1, 1994.

To equal the record of Senna, the man whose dominance of Formula One he followed, was clearly a moment of defining emotional significance for Schumacher.

"Yes, it does mean a lot to me," he said, before being overcome.

Hakkinen, the defending champion and current leader, who had seen his advantage cut to just two points with three races remaining, was also emotional.

Asked for his views, he said: "Give me a break. Go to Ralf, please. Ralf can continue..."

Schumacher's younger brother Ralf then talked, after having comforted Michael with an arm on his shoulder.

Emotional Win

The Ferrari driver did not recover his composure entirely until after he had left the media centre and escaped from the probing questions of reporters.

"I really have no vocabulary to express my feelings except that I am happy and I am exhausted," he said. "A total of 41 means a lot to me, but there are times when I cannot answer all your questions.

"This was a very emotional win, even more so than in 1998. Here we are in Italy and after some difficult races, we are back on the right road.

"I am still not in front in the championship, but this win is a big relief. There are 500 people working with us and all of them are part of this victory."

He added: "I am very sad to hear about the death of a track official. Under these circumstances, what happened in the race has only a secondary importance."