Timothy Collings' Race Report - US GP

Ferrari's Michael Schumacher moved back to the top of the world championship with a crushing victory in Sunday's Grand Prix at the "brickyard", temple of American motor racing.

Ferrari, who last won the drivers' title in 1979, delivered their third one-two of the season in front of a delighted 250,000 crowd to take full advantage of the early exit in flames of Schumacher's chief rival and title-holder Mika Hakkinen.

The Finn's McLaren retired after only 25 laps while he was running second behind Schumacher, and eating into the German's lead with every lap of the first U.S. Grand Prix since 1991.

Schumacher came home 12 seconds ahead of team mate Rubens Barrichello of Brazil and he now has 88 points to Hakkinen's 80 with just two races - in Japan and Malaysia - left.

"This is a great result for the team, for Ferrari," said Schumacher. "But I don't think the championship is over yet. What happened to Mika (Hakkinen) today can happen to anyone."

Schumacher, who wept in relief after winning the Italian Grand Prix at Monza two weeks ago, has a superior win record over Hakkinen of seven to four and is now clear favourite to take his third world title.

Frentzen Third

German Heinz-Harald Frentzen was third in a Jordan after he held off a fierce challenge from Canadian Jacques Villeneuve, who won the Indy 500 here in 1995, in a BAR.

David Coulthard in the second McLaren finished fifth, ahead of Brazilian Ricardo Zonta in the second BAR, but the Briton's challenge was wrecked by a 10-second stop-go penalty for jumping the start.

Schumacher's win was the 42nd of his career, a total which lifted him one clear of Brazilian Ayrton Senna. Only Alain Prost of France with 51 wins is ahead of Schumacher.

Coulthard's false start took him ahead of Schumacher, who started on pole, but the German gained the lead on lap seven with a daring overtaking move at the end of the fastest straight in formula one.

The Ferrari driver was never troubled after that, except for a self-inflicted 360-degree spin with just five laps left in the 73-lap race. But Schumacher had harsh words afterwards for the Scot for making life difficult earlier on.

"He tried too much for someone who is not really in the championship and he pushed me across very hard," said Schumacher.

"I don't think it was right in my view. But we won the race and we beat them fair and square and that is what really counts." Coulthard is third in the drivers' standings on 63 points and has no chance of winning the title.

Schumacher achieved another notable victory on Saturday when he persuaded organisers to move the grid back eight metres because of the famous 'yard of bricks' across the start-finish line.

He and his Ferrari team had complained it would penalise him at the start because he might have wheel-spin as he pulled away. And the race officials bowed to his pressure - giving him a short run-up to the slithery bricks.