Schumacher puts championship down to Brawn
Michael Schumacher paid tribute to Ferrari's technical director Ross Brawn on Sunday saying he deserved the credit for ending their 21-year wait for the world championship
It has often been Brawn's quick tactical thinking that has conjured victories from nothing and it was the same again in Suzuka. In the falling rain Brawn spotted the chance for Schumacher to get past Hakkinen in the second round of pit stops by keeping him on old rubber with more grip.
As Hakkinen slithered back into the race on fresh rubber, the difference in their tyres was enough to hand a hard-charging Schumacher enough of an advantage to take the lead and the world title.
"He is simply the master of our team," said Schumacher. "He is the one who made us champion. It is unfair to everyone else to put him up front. But in the final moment he is the person who makes the right decision."
Brawn returned the compliment, praising Schumacher, and said the triumph meant he had achieved a personal ambition.
"We've had four really tough years at Ferrari and today's hard-fought victory is a dream come true," said Brawn. "When I came to Ferrari this was my ambition and to achieve this championship title is the end of that ambition.
"The critical point in the race was McLaren's second pit-stop and it was that which allowed us to get past Mika and into the lead. The conditions were tricky at the time and we were fortunate that Mika was struggling with the rain as it increased.
"Michael did his usual brilliant job and managed to stay in touch with Mika through the middle stint. He then made every second count."
For a full race report, click here.
For full race results, click here.
For a lap-by-lap account of all the action, click here.
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments