Formula One 2010

[Rasputin]

As of the 2006 Japanese Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher holds the following F1 records:



Career Records:

Most championship titles: 7
Most consecutive championship titles: 5
Most race wins: 91
Most consecutive race wins: 7 (in 2004 - European GP, Canadian GP, United States GP, French GP, British GP, German GP, Hungarian GP) This record is shared with Ascari, who won the last 6 races of 1952 and the first one of 1953. The following race was the Indianapolis 500, in which he did not participate. Afterwards he won other two races, but since the Indy 500 was officially part of the F1 World Championship, his winning streak was already over.
Most race wins with one team: 72 with Ferrari
Most race wins at the same GP: 8 at the French Grand Prix (Magny-Cours)
Most different GPs (by country) won: 20
Most time between first and last race wins: 14 years, 1 month and 2 days
Most second place finishes: 43
Most podium finishes: 154
Most consecutive podium finishes: 19 (from the 2001 United States Grand Prix, until the 2002 Japanese Grand Prix)
Most points finishes: 189
Most laps leading: 4741 (with a total of 22,155 km in 131 Grands Prix)
Most pole positions: 68
Most starts from first row: 108
Most fastest laps: 75
Most doubles (pole position and race win): 40
Most hat-trick (pole position, race win and fastest lap): 22
Most championship points: 1,364
Most consecutive race finished without retirement: 24 (from the 2001 Hungarian Grand Prix, until the 2003 Malaysian Grand Prix)
Only racing driver ever, in any racing class, to win 5 times at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Only racing driver ever, in any racing class, to win 5 times at Autodromo Nazionale Monza
2004:

Most race wins in a season: 13 (out of 18 races)
Most fastest laps in a season: 10 (out of 18 races; tied by Räikkönen in 2005)
Most championship points in a season: 148 (out of a maximum of 180)
2002:

Most podium finishes in a season: 17 (out of 17 races)
1995:

Youngest double World Champion: 26 years, 9 months and 19 days
The one major record Schumacher is set to miss out on is the record for most Grands Prix competed in. His final race will be his 250th so he will finish 6 short of Riccardo Patrese's record of 256. Other records he will not be able to break are the one for most pole positions in a season, that is held by Nigel Mansell (14), and for most consecutive pole positions, held by Ayrton Senna .

[Rasputin]

Kimi Räikkönen

Kimi Matias Räikkönen (pronounced approximately /ki-mi ma-ti-as ræik-kø-nen/ in IPA, born October 17, 1979 in Espoo, Finland) is a Formula One race car driver. He is nicknamed " The Iceman". He finished runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 2003 and 2005. Currently, he drives for Team McLaren-Mercedes, but has signed a 3-year deal with Ferrari from the 2007 season onwards. He is married to Finnish model Jenni Dahlman-Räikkönen.



After a difficult and busy winter testing period, during which the new McLaren proved neither reliable nor quick, there was much speculation about Räikkönen's future in Formula One and he was unofficially linked with Ferrari and Toyota. The first real test for the 2005 championship runner-up and his car was neither a disappointment nor a relief. In Bahrain, Räikkönen suffered electronic problems during Friday practice and a rear suspension break during the first qualifying session, which forced him back to 22nd place on the grid. Nevertheless he drove a superb race through the field, ending third behind Alonso and Micheal Schumacher.

In Malaysia, Räikkönen was hit from behind by Red Bull Racing's Christian Klien entering turn 3 on the very first lap. The impact caused a left rear suspension failure resulting in Räikkönen retiring from the race.

Having started the year clearly behind Renault, McLaren improved in Australia, where Räikkönen finished second after flat spotting a tyre and losing a wing end-plate, causing him to fall off the pace somewhat around the midpoint of the race. Chasing down Alonso during the final stages of the race, he did however achieve the fastest lap of the race on the final lap, finishing only 1.8 seconds behind the Spaniard.

McLaren hoped the San Marino Grand Prix would signal a return to winning ways, with the long haul races out the way and the return to Europe for the European leg of the season. The start of the European leg of the season is always marked by technical modifications to the cars, with no exceptions this year, like new front wings. However a bad choice of strategy and a mistake from Räikkönen in qualifying (8th) saw the McLarens get caught in traffic in the early part of the race allowing Michael Schumacher and Alonso to get away at the front. Räikkönen eventually finished 5th, with team mate Montoya ahead in 3rd place. McLaren team boss Ron Dennis blamed Kimi Räikkönen's poor performance for the team's failure to finish in the top two in the race. Dennis said: "Kimi should have been three or four tenths quicker in qualifying and was capable of it. It would have put him on the second row of the grid and I think it would have been a very different race."

McLaren's trend of bad qualifying performance continued in the Spanish Grand Prix. Räikkönen qualified 9th, 3 places in front of his team-mate. However, thanks to a great start, Räikkönen managed to get up from 9th to 5th place on the first lap. He retained his position for most of the race, finishing in 5th place, behind the two Renaults and Ferraris. A few days after the Spanish Grand Prix, he admitted that he had no chance of winning the 2006 Championship "The title battle will be fought between Ferrari and Renault. I'll look for winning some races. At least I'll try."

In Monte Carlo, McLaren and Räikkönen proved to be back in business. Räikkönen qualified third after Michael Schumacher was demoted to the back of the grid from first place for unsporting behaviour. During the race he would get up to 2nd and keep pace with Alonso, but in the end finished his race weekend when a failed heat shield led to heat from the exhaust causing the wiring loom inside the car to catch fire.

The British Grand Prix at Silverstone saw Räikkönen qualify second behind Alonso and in front of Michael Schumacher. The running order was Alonso, Räikkönen, Schumacher until the second set of pitstops where Räikkönen was demoted to third by Schumacher, a position he held until the end of the race. After the race he said third was the best position he could have hoped for.

At Canada, Räikkönen brought home another podium but still was without a win in 2006. In the United States Grand Prix, his teammate punted him out in an expensive seven car accident. This may have been one reason why Montoya left the sport of F1.

The 2006 French Grand Prix saw Räikkönen qualify his car in sixth. His teammate was now former test driver Pedro de la Rosa in place of Montoya's departure into NASCAR. Räikkönen ended the day in fifth.

Next on the list was Germany; a race Räikkönen had retired from in all his previous appearances. This year he qualified on pole. After a battle with Button, he finished the race for the first time in his career, ending in third place.

Another pole came in Hungary but he collided with Vitantonio Liuzzi after 25 laps, causing his fourth retirement of the season.

An unfortunate first turn incident with Scott Speed at the Turkish Grand Prix led to an exploded tyre and suspension damage. Carbon fibre shards were spread over the track as the injured McLaren limped back to the pits. After a tyre change, Räikkönen's race ended half way into the next lap when he ran into the barricade at turn 4.

Räikkönen qualified on pole for the Italian Grand Prix, snatching pole from Michael Schumacher by 2 thousandths of a second right at the end of qualifying. He led the early part of the race until the first pitstops where he was passed by Michael Schumacher. He stayed in second place for the rest of the race. After the race Schumacher announced that he was retiring. Later Ferrari announced that he would be replaced in the 2007 season by Räikkönen.

Meanwhile, Räikkönen's Formula 3 claimed their first major success, with British driver Mike Conway winning the title.

[Rasputin]

Felipe Massa

Felipe Massa (born April 25, 1981) is a Brazilian Formula One racing driver, currently employed by Ferrari as team-mate to seven times world champion Michael Schumacher.

His debut season of F1 saw him paired with ex-F3000 champion Nick Heidfeld. Whilst showing that he definitely had pace, Massa made several mistakes and spun off the track on many occasions. He managed to score 4 championship points, including a 5th place finish at the Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Catalunya. Late in the season he received a penalty for the United States Grand Prix, and thus Sauber brought in Heinz-Harald Frentzen, their former driver. Massa returned for Suzuka, but Frentzen was already confirmed as Heidfeld's team-mate for 2003. Having been denied a Jordan race seat, Massa moved to Ferrari as a test driver.

Having impressed the team, and showing signs that his mistake rate had declined, Massa was re-signed by the Sauber team for 2004, alongside Giancarlo Fisichella. He had a good season, scoring 12 of the team's 34 points - highlighted by a career-best 4th place at the Belgian Grand Prix. Fisichella generally outperformed his Brazilian team-mate, but Massa on occasion demonstrated sound pace. In 2005 he remained with Sauber, but in an uneventful season was unable to score regular points. He managed to outpace second driver Jacques Villeneuve over the course of the year, although the 1997 world champion was often the quicker of the two by the end of 2005. For 2006 Massa moved to Ferrari alongside Schumacher.

He got off to a good start at Ferrari, qualifying 2nd at the opening race in Bahrain, and managing to come from almost the back of the grid, (21st), to 5th in Malaysia, beating Schumacher who started from 14th. However, in Bahrain, in both Saturday practice and the race, he seemed to resume his tendency to spin, narrowly missing eventual winner Fernando Alonso in the race. He kept up his reputation as being a bit on the wild side at the Australian GP when he crashed his Ferrari in Qualifying, and then wrecking the heavily-repaired car at the first corner in the race in contact with Christian Klien and Nico Rosberg.

However, he did score his first career podium at the Nürburgring, behind only Schumacher and Alonso, and then set the fastest lap at Barcelona. Since then he has managed to eliminate many unforced errors from his driving and has provided Schumacher with excellent backup during his world title campaign picking three more podium positions in the USA, France and Germany. He secured his first F1 pole position and his first F1 win at the 2006 Turkish Grand Prix, at the Istanbul Park circuit. His future position at Ferrari was secured by the announcing of Schumacher's retirement on 10 September 2006, and he will partner Kimi Räikkönen in the team for 2007 onwards.

[Rasputin]

Giancarlo Fisichella

Giancarlo Fisichella (born January 14, 1973 in Rome), also known as Fisico or Fisi, is an Italian Formula One racing driver. He currently drives for the reigning world constructors' champion Renault team and has also driven for Sauber, Jordan, Benetton and Minardi.

For most of his career he has consistently outpaced his team-mates, and was eventually declared the winner for Jordan of the chaotic 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix a week after the event. Until 2005 he had never been in a team with genuinely competitive equipment. Since joining the Renault team he has been overshadowed by world champion Fernando Alonso but has taken two further victories with Renault. Having recently signed a further one year contract with Renault, he will hope to step out of Alonso's shadow as Alonso leaves for McLaren next season. He also runs his own GP2 team, currently lead by former Formula One driver Giorgio Pantano.

Giancarlo has managed three victories in his Formula 1 career, in Brazil 2003, Australia 2005 and Malaysia 2006. He took his first points in 1997 in the Jordan at Imola with 4th place. He took his first podium at Canada that same year in 3rd place, another followed at Spa in Belgium. In 1998 podiums came at Monaco and Canada, where he nearly won.



1999 was a troubled year but he still managed 2nd place in Canada. 2000 was a better year for him, with podiums in Brazil, Monaco and Canada. 2001 was a disastrous year in a poor Benetton, but he managed a podium finish at Spa. For 2002 he moved to Jordan and suffered, no podiums but a string of fifth placed finishes around mid season helped his beat team mate Takuma Sato. 2003 brought Giancarlo his first win at a very wet Brazilian Grand Prix, but the rest of the year earnt him only one point. 2004 was spent at the Sauber Team, again no podiums but he did manage a good points haul. 2005 and his big chance came at Renault.

He started the year fantastically with a win in Australia, but poor luck after that with problems at nearly every race, and he ended the season 5th in the championship.

Fisichella is engaged to Luna and they have two children, Carlotta and Christopher. After finishing third in the 2006 Japanese Grand Prix, he dedicated the result to his best friend, Tonino Visciani, who died of a heart attck on the Thursday before the race.

[Rasputin]

Rubens Barrichello

Rubens Gonçalves Barrichello (born May 23, 1972) is a Brazilian Formula One race driver who currently drives for Honda Racing. He is best known for being Michael Schumacher's teammate at Ferrari from 2000 to 2005, enjoying considerable success.

Barrichello was more than capable of being Schumacher's "1b". He achieved his first victory in Hockenheim that year in his 128th race, the longest wait for a driver's maiden win, despite having started from a shocking 18th on the grid. "Rubinho", as he is often known, continued to be successful in the following years thanks to Ferrari's dominance of Formula One: he managed to finish second behind Schumacher in the 2002 championship, as Ferrari ran away from the rest of the field. He managed to achieve four victories during this time. However, team orders forced the Brazilian to cede to Schumacher some potential victories, such as the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix, where he slowed down at the last turn of the race for Michael to take victory. Such behaviour eventually led to team orders being banned in 2003.

In the 2004 season, Barrichello finished second behind teammate Michael Schumacher in seven of the first thirteen races, but he won both the Italian Grand Prix and the Chinese Grand Prix to clinch second place in the championship, finishing the year with an impressive 114 points and a staggering 14 podiums — just one behind his teammate.

During the 2005 Formula One season Barrichello was becoming increasingly agitated at having to be so subservient to Schumacher. In August 2005 he announced that he would be leaving Ferrari at the end of the 2005 F1 season to join Honda F1. He struggled to get on top of the car early in the 2006 season and was initially outpaced by his team-mate Jenson Button, claiming that the car did not suit his driving style. After modifications to the car he was able to be more competitive. At the 2006 Monaco Grand Prix, he nearly got his first podium with the team, but then he was given a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pit lane. At the 2006 Chinese Grand Prix Qualifying, he sat in the press conference with the Renault drivers, beating out Schumacher and Raikkonen for the 3rd spot.

Barrichello has been very unlucky at his home race, as he has failed to finish ten of thirteen Brazilian Grands Prix in which he has competed. His best result was a third place in 2004.
Barrichello's first victory at Hockenheim was one of the very few victories achieved by a driver in Formula One in modern times from a position at the back of the grid
Barrichello is brother in law with IRL brazilian driver Felipe Giaffone

[Rasputin]

Pedro de la Rosa

Pedro Martínez de la Rosa (born February 24, 1971) is a Spanish Formula One driver. He was born in Barcelona (Spain). De la Rosa has participated in 69 grands prix, debuting on March 7, 1999, becoming one of very few drivers to score a point at his first race. He scored a total of six championship points with the old scoring system, and an additional 22 points in the expanded scoring format.

In 1990 de le Rosa joined the Spanish Formula Ford 1600 and became champion. He also joined the British Formula Renault 1600 and got two podiums out of six races. In 1991, de la Rosa got fourth in the Spanish Formula Renault Championship with three podium finishes. In 1992 he won both the European and British Formula Renault. However, he slipped down the order in the next two years. In 1995, he was champion of the Japanese Formula 3 series and third in the Macau Grand Prix. In 1996 Pedro was 8th in both the Formula Nippon F3000 and All Japan GT Championship. The next year he was champion of the Formula Nippon F3000. He was also the Japan All GT Champion.

In 1998, de la Rosa shifted to the Formula One series as a test driver for Jordan. The next year, he joined Arrows and scored only one point in the driver's standings. He picked the point up in the Australian Grand Prix, his début race. In 2000, he bettered his performance by one point scoring at both Hockenheim and Nürburgring. For the next two years, he joined Jaguar Racing, having a difficult relationship with the team's lead driver Eddie Irvine. He scored 3 points in 2001 but was pointless in 2002 and was dropped in 2003 (along with Irvine, who retired).

He became a test driver for McLaren and made a points scoring debut at the 2005 Bahrain Grand Prix when Juan Pablo Montoya injured his shoulder. He came fifth and also set the fastest lap in the race.

On July 11th 2006 it was announced that de la Rosa would take over the second McLaren race seat with immediate effect following Juan Pablo Montoya's departure to NASCAR. It was initially unclear whether he would remain in the seat until the end of the season, but some successful results led to him being retained.

At the Hungarian Grand Prix of 2006 De la Rosa scored his first ever podium, coming 2nd behind Jenson Button.

[Rasputin]

There are some seasons when the term "world champion" sits a little uncomfortably on the shoulders of the man who wears the crown, but 2006 was not one of them.

So deserving of that term were both Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso that it is sad in some ways that only one of their names will be in the record books.

In his final season, Schumacher, the most successful driver in the history of the sport, once again proved all the qualities that made him the outstanding talent of his generation.

And Alonso displayed exactly why he will take over Schumacher's position as Formula One's pre-eminent driver.

It was an odd season, split almost exactly into a Renault half and a Ferrari half. But the end result was a championship climax of compelling excitement.

Few would begrudge Alonso his second title after a season in which the fates seemed to conspire against him, only to smile on him again by handing him victory in the penultimate race in Japan.


F1's two best drivers - either would have been a deserving champion
At the age of just 25, Alonso's place in F1's pantheon is already secure.

In many ways he is reminiscent of a young Schumacher - both are blindingly fast, brave and committed, but what marks them out as special is their ability to drive right on the limit on every lap of every race.

The manner in which Ferrari and their tyre supplier Bridgestone recovered from a slow start, and a huge mid-season points deficit to Alonso, underlined all the admirable qualities of engineering excellence and strategic genius that have made them the sport's dominant force this millennium.

Ferrari undoubtedly had the strongest package from the end of June until the beginning of October, but their revival was aided by Renault suffering the sort of wobble that champions can ill afford.

Initially, the championship was contested in a spirit of good sportsmanship - the drivers have great respect for each other's abilities, and several members of the rival teams have worked with each in the past.

But as the season wore on, bitterness crept in as Renault began to feel as if the cards were stacked against them, that Ferrari were using political as well as sporting means to advance their cause.

A series of events made their chances of holding off Ferrari's challenge harder than it otherwise would have been.

It started last winter, with the decision to reintroduce tyre changes after a season in which Bridgestone had failed to match Michelin's ability to design tyres that were competitive over an entire race distance.

The decisions kept coming:


Ferrari's use of flexing front and rear wings was declared legal at the start of the season, forcing all other teams to follow suit
Renault's "mass damper" was banned on the grounds of being a moveable aerodynamic device, despite it being located inside the car and cleared for use since September 2005
Wheel farings introduced by Ferrari on the basis that they cooled the brakes, but which also had an aerodynamic effect, were allowed
To the anger of fellow drivers, Schumacher was not punished for missing the chicane while defending his place in Hungary
Alonso was controversially demoted on the grid in Italy for allegedly blocking Ferrari's Felipe Massa

Renault began to feel as if the odds were stacked against them
In isolation, each of these would have caused relatively little impact on Renault, or raised alarm bells in the consciousness of those involved in and following the sport.

But seen together, it was not only conspiracy theorists who began to feel distinctly uncomfortable about the pattern of events.

The ban on the mass damper - a counterweight mounted within the nose of the car that helped stability and improved tyre performance - was the most disruptive to Renault.

It came at a time when Bridgestone had overturned its early disadvantage to Renault's supplier Michelin and given Ferrari an edge.

After a disastrous race in Germany immediately following the ban, Renault overcame the problem, and were quickly back on the pace.

But by then, pressured by Schumacher's increasing momentum, they had started to make a series of most uncharacteristic errors.


Raikkonen and McLaren had a disappointing, winless year
Until Japan, these looked set to cost Alonso the title, only for the mistakes to even themselves out with Schumacher's rare engine failure.

After that, with Alonso needing only a point from the final race, the title was as good as settled, and so it proved.

Schumacher and Alonso turned a season that had been expected to be one of the most open for years into a private battle.

Their respective team-mates, Felipe Massa and Giancarlo Fisichella, were usually nowhere near them, underlining the brilliance of the two title rivals.

Of the other teams, McLaren were arguably the biggest disappointment of the year on the basis of their own and others' expectations, even if Honda - for a while - and Toyota ran them close.

To go from having the fastest car in 2005 to not even winning a race this year must have given Alonso some pause for thought about the wisdom of his decision to join the team in 2007.

The departure of technical director Adrian Newey to Red Bull before the season started cannot have helped, and does not raise confidence in McLaren's ability to bounce back, even with Alonso in one of their cars.

Kimi Raikkonen consolidated his position as the other member of F1's top three. But his continuing occasional errors and lapses of concentration meant he failed to match the consistent excellence of Schumacher and Alonso.

And McLaren's season also saw the end of the brief but electrifying F1 career of Juan Pablo Montoya.


Button finally broke his duck with a deserved win in Hungary
Disenchanted by a shortage of opportunities for the future and McLaren's lack of competitiveness, Montoya lost his spark, and - emotional as ever - he committed to a switch to Nascar for 2007, whereupon McLaren sacked him immediately.

Honda looked set to be an even bigger let down than McLaren, but after a catastrophically poor start to the season they turned their car around.

It was never a match for a Renault or Ferrari, and rarely so for a McLaren, but Jenson Button drove superbly on his way to his deserved maiden victory in Hungary, even if he inherited it when Alonso retired.

Toyota, after the promise of 2005, went backwards, and it is difficult to see how firing technical director Mike Gascoyne, the man who inspired their upturn last year, will help them progress.

They will have the added pressure in 2007 of direct competition from Williams, to whom the Japanese giant will be supplying engines.

How strong that competition will be, though, is a moot point, for Williams continued their cycle of decline in 2006.

The team that 10 years ago could produce cars good enough to allow Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve to beat Schumacher to the championship ended the season eighth out of 11 teams, having produced a car that was neither quick nor reliable.

It will take more than Schumacher's retirement to put this once great team back in a position they once took for granted.

[Rasputin]

Fernando Alonso, world champion 2005-6: "I always said to become champion when Michael was still on the track has more value than when he retire and I was extremely lucky to win the last two championships. All the drivers wish him the best with his new life with his family and it has been for us a pleasure to race with him."
Mika Hakkinen, world champion 1998-99: "If you take the overall picture then there is no doubt about Michael and what he has done in his career in F1. He has achieved something remarkable. I don't think there will be a driver in the future who can beat that achievement for a long time, or maybe ever."

Felipe Massa, 2006 Ferrari team-mate: "He is a great guy, a fantastic person for me because he wanted me in the team, and I will miss him."

SCHUMACHER'S RECORDS

Wins: 91
Drivers' titles: 7
Pole positions: 68
Fastest laps: 75
Points: 1,369
Flavio Briatore, Renault team boss: "What Michael Schumacher has done today will go down in the history of F1. He was flying. I don't know what he had but he was literally flying. We've won a difficult championship against an extrememly difficult rival, Ferrari, so congratulations to them too for keeping the title open even too much."

Stirling Moss, British motorsport legend: "I'm sure he will be remembered, first of all, for being able to galvanise a team so well. He was an amazing personality.

"He got Ferrari, when they were really nowhere, and took the right men with him and he brought the team forward, galvanised them together, and with his ability and the sort of person he is he got them into being the winning car they are today."

Niki Lauda, three-time world champion: "He is the greatest. Nobody will ever beat him, as long as we are alive."

David Coulthard, rival: "He is the greatest all-round racing driver this sport has seen."

[Rasputin]

Renault's Fernando Alonso won a second straight drivers' title with second place at the Brazilian Grand Prix as rival Michael Schumacher hit trouble.

Schumacher needed to win with Alonso out of the points to clinch an eighth title in his final race, but his Ferrari suffered a puncture early on.

The German put in a storming recovery drive to finish fourth but could do nothing about Alonso's title march.

Ferrari's Felipe Massa won the race, with Jenson Button's Honda third.

Renault's Giancarlo Fisichella finished sixth, behind McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen, and the result was enough for the team to beat Ferrari by five points and win the constructors' championship for the second year in a row.

The Ferraris were the fastest cars in the race by far and Massa, who started from pole position, was in control throughout to become the first Brazilian to win his home race since the late Ayrton Senna in 1993.


Massa wasted no time in pulling out a huge lead in the Ferrari
"This is amazing. To win here in front of my own people - it is a dream come true," Massa said.

"It is incredible. The car was wonderful and it was the easiest race of my life because of that.

"But I must say thank you to Michael for all his help and he is a great friend and a great driver. I am sorry for him but this is the best day of my life."

Massa romped away into the lead in the first two laps before a heavy crash suffered by Williams' Nico Rosberg brought out the safety car.

When racing resumed, the Brazilian again stormed off into the distance, leaving Raikkonen - his future Ferrari team-mate - trailing.

At this stage, Schumacher appeared to have a good chance of winning his final race before retirement.

Stuck down in 10th place on the grid because of a fuel-pressure problem in qualifying, he made a dynamic start to the race, and was up to sixth by the time the safety car came out.

When racing resumed three laps later, Schumacher began to pile the pressure on Alonso's team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella.

After trailing him for a couple of laps, he made a move on the Italian at the end of lap eight.

The Ferrari took the lead as they powered down the pit straight, and fended off Fisichella's attempt to re-take the position as they dived into the Senna S.


Schumacher drove his final race as he did the rest - on the limit
But halfway through the corner, the rear of the Ferrari slid wide, and heading out on to the back straight Fisichella streaked past as Schumacher slowed dramatically with his left rear tyre coming apart.

He was forced to tour slowly around the rest of the lap before coming into the pits for a new tyre.

He rejoined last, just ahead of Massa, and set to work on making what he could of his final competitive appearance in an F1 car.

Out of sync on fuel stops with the rest because Ferrari fuelled his car at the same time as replacing his punctured tyre, he began to put in the sort of drive that has defined his career - relentless pace, commitment and consistency right on the limit.

He set a series of fastest laps as he scythed through the field once his fuel load came down and others' pit stops brought them back towards him.

As the race balanced out after the final stops, Schumacher was again in sixth place on the tail of Fisichella.

This time, though, he did not find it so easy to pass the Renault.

He harried Fisichella for 10 laps before the pressure finally told. Fisichella misjudged his braking into the first corner with nine laps to go and ran wide.

606: DEBATE
Brilliant last race from Schumi. But I am pleased Alonso is champion

DW
606: Have your say

That allowed Schumacher past to chase Raikkonen.

The Ferrari quickly caught the McLaren, and Schumacher made it past with a very brave move as Raikkonen robustly defended his position at the first corner with three laps to go.

With Button more than six seconds ahead in third place, that was as far as Schumacher would go, but his performance at least ensured he bowed out of F1 in style.

Behind the untouchable Massa at the front, Alonso had made a cautious start to the race, holding position in fourth place behind Raikkonen and Jarno Trulli's Toyota.

But the Spaniard began to come on strong in the run up to the first pit-stop period once the Italian retired early with suspension failure.

Raikkonen made his stop first, at the end of lap 21, but Alonso had another five laps of fuel left in his car, and he rejoined just ahead of the McLaren.

Alonso now had to worry about Button, which made strong progress after starting 14th and passed Raikkonen at the end of the pit straight on lap 29.

Button was close behind Alonso until the second stops, but the Renault again stayed out longer and easily held on to second place to the end of the race.

Raikkonen was never far behind Button, but was forced to end his McLaren career in an understated fifth place, to end McLaren's first winless season since 1996.

Honda's Rubens Barrichello was seventh ahead of the McLaren of Pedro de la Rosa, who did an unconventional one-stop race.

[Rasputin]

Brazilian Grand Prix result:

1. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari one hour 31 minutes 53.751 seconds
2. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault +18.658 seconds
3. Jenson Button (GB) Honda +19.394
4. Michael Schumacher (Ger) Ferrari +24.094
5. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) McLaren-Mercedes +28.503
6. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Renault +30.287
7. Rubens Barrichello (Brz) Honda +40.294
8. Pedro de la Rosa (Spa) McLaren-Mercedes +52.068
9. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber +1:07.642
10. Takuma Sato (Jpn) Super Aguri-Honda 1 lap behind
11. Scott Speed (US) Toro Rosso-Cosworth 1 lap
12. Robert Doornbos (Ned) Red Bull-Ferrari 1 lap
13. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) Toro Rosso-Cosworth 1 lap
14. Christijan Albers (Ned) MF1-Toyota 1 lap
15. Tiago Monteiro (Por) MF1-Toyota 2 laps
16. Sakon Yamamoto (Jpn) Super Aguri-Honda 2 laps
17R. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 8 laps
R David Coulthard (GB) Red Bull-Ferrari 14 laps completed
R Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 10 laps
R Ralf Schumacher (Ger) Toyota 9 laps
R Mark Webber (Aus) Williams-Cosworth 1 lap
R Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Cosworth 1 lap

R = retired

Fastest lap: Michael Schumacher, 1:12.162, lap 70.

[Rasputin]

Fernando Alonso was delighted with a more than comfortable title-winning display at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
He finished second behind Felipe Massa to seal back-to-back world titles, 13 points clear of Michael Schumacher.

"It's been a great weekend," he said. We did it and now I am going to have the biggest party of my life."

"And I have to say that it means more to be the double champion now and win these titles while Michael Schumacher was racing than any other time."

Alonso joined a list of racing legends on Sunday in becoming only the eighth driver in Formula One history to win successive titles and the youngest at 25.

The Spaniard headed into Sunday's title decider, needing just one point to be certain of his retaining his world crown.

It is my last race for Renault and I am so glad we won both titles - that was the important thing

Fernando Alonso
And he did not disappoint, driving a steady, flawless race at Interlagos as title rival Schumacher ended his glorious 16-year career at the pinnacle of motorsport with fourth after fighting back from an early puncture.

Alonso on his own did enough for Renault to win the constructors' championship from Ferrari, but team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella's sixth place left the final margin at five points.

"It was a very good race for us," added Alonso, who joins McLaren next season. "I only needed a point to become champion, and I was ready to help the team become constructors' championships.

"It's a great feeling. It is my last race for them and I am so glad we won both titles - that was the important thing.

"Felipe and Ferrari were too quick for us in the race, but we did the job."

On Schumacher who had clawed back a 25-point deficit in June to challenge for the title, Alonso was full of praise for his retiring rival.

"It's been very close," the Renault driver said. "It's been good to fight with him."

"If he is on the track, it is tougher and it is of more value.

"It is an honour to have won the final two championships of his career. He is retiring as the man with all the records, and it has been a big pressure to race against him - and a big privilege as well."

[Rasputin]

Hail Alonso – the next Schu

SAO PAULO: The first Spaniard to win the Formula One drivers’ world championship, Fernando Alonso, established himself as one of the greats on Sunday when he retained his title by finishing second in the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Alonso, 25, has succeeded due to a combination of his natural speed and competitive instincts allied with supreme race-craft and an iron will to win.

His success ensured there was symmetry to the passage of glory and success at the highest levels of F1.

As the great Michael Schumacher, a seven-time champion, retired after racing for the last time in Brazil, within a short taxi-ride of Ayrton Senna’s grave at Morumbi, so Alonso claimed his succession as a multiple champion on the Interlagos track.

Like Senna and Schumacher before him, Alonso’s career began in karting when he was a child, developed as a teenager and peaked when he entered F1.

Indeed, there are many similarities in the careers of Schumacher and Alonso – both went through karting to single-seater racing, both love football, both won their first two successive F1 drivers’ titles under the guidance of Italian team chief Flavio Briatore and both then departed for “bigger” teams.

While Schumacher left for Ferrari, after winning the 1994 and 1995 titles, Alonso will leave for McLaren, after winning the 2005 and 2006 titles, taking with him the coveted number one.

Similarly, just as Schumacher became the first German to win an F1 race and then to win the drivers’ title, so too did Alonso, whose modern, slightly understated image has made him a pin-up in his native Spain.

He is engaged to Raquel del Rosario, the lead singer of the Spanish pop group El Sueno de Morfeo.

And just like Schumacher, Alonso has quickly earned plaudits from seasoned observers.




“It’s too early to call him legendary, but he has that shine to him,” said the 1996 world champion Briton Damon Hill. “He certainly has the ability.”

Another multiple champion, Briton Jackie Stewart, said Alonso was not only an “exceptional talent”, but also F1’s latest “genius” because of his combination of talent and mind-management.

Alonso was born Fernando Alonso Diaz – Alonso is his father’s first surname and Diaz is his mother’s – on July 29, 1981, in Oviedo, in the Asturias province of northern Spain.

His mother worked in a department store and his father was employed as an explosives expert in the mining industry.

The Alonsos and their two children, older sister Lorena and Fernando, lived comfortably, but were by no means a wealthy family.

His father Jose Luis, an amateur kart racer, passed on his passion to his children and built a pedal kart mimicking an F1 car. He intended to give it to Lorena, then eight, but she showed insufficient interest and it was Fernando, then three, who was given his chance first, immediately showing his parents his competitive instincts.

His parents said he showed a competitive spirit at that young age and, like Schumacher before him, Alonso embarked on a karting career backed by his family.

His father doubled as his mechanic and they travelled to karting events all over Spain. His victories guaranteed sponsorships and the required funds.

He won three Spanish karting titles before taking part in the European karting championship – finishing second – and then the world juniors, in which he was champion in 1996.

Alonso moved to more serious racing in open-wheel cars in 1999, taking part in a Spanish series using Nissan cars, with support from former Minardi driver Spaniard Adrian Campos.

He won the series at 18 and this gave him an opportunity to climb to Formula 3000 and attract the attention of the F1 talent-spotters.

Briatore, the flamboyant Italian playboy who is Renault team chief, became Alonso’s personal manager at this time and guided his career.

Alonso became the third youngest driver of all time to start an F1 race when, after joining Minardi, he began the 2001 Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.

In 2002, he joined Renault as the team’s test driver and in 2003 began his serious racing career in a competitive car.

In his second outing for Renault he became the youngest driver ever to claim pole position when he achieved that feat in the Malaysian Grand Prix.

It was a signal that he was to become a serious challenger and as Renault developed and improved so too did the talented Spaniard who, with a fine season in 2005, claimed his first title and became the youngest champion.

Next season, Alonso will face his first serious test as a champion when he leaves Renault for McLaren, a team that has struggled for consistency and reliability in recent years.

A private and self-contained man with a rich sense of humour, he loves playing football, is a keen fan of Real Madrid and enjoys learning magic tricks to play on his friends.

He may need all of those attributes if he is to follow the Schumacher example again and revive a team that is in the doldrums and turn them into a dominant force. – AFP

BRAZILIAN GRAND PRIX RESULTS AND FINALS STANDING

71 laps (4.31km circuit): 1. Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 1'31:53.751, 2. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 18.658 behind, 3. Jenson Button (Bri) Honda 19.394, 4. Michael Schumacher (Ger) Ferrari 24.094, 5. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) McLaren 28.503, 6. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Renault 30.287, 7. Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Honda 40.294, 8. Pedro de la Rosa (Spa) McLaren 52.068, 9. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:07.642, 10. Takuma Sato (Jpn) Super Aguri-Honda 1 lap, 11. Scott Speed (US) Toro Rosso-Cosworth 1 lap, 12. Robert Doornbos (Ned) RedBull-Ferrari 1 lap, 13. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) Toro Rosso-Cosworth 1 lap, 14. Christijan Albers (Ned) MF1-Toyota 1 lap, 15. Tiago Monteiro (Por) MF1-Toyota 2 laps, 16. Sakon Yamamoto (Jpn) Super Aguri-Honda 2 laps, 17. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 8 laps; Retired: David Coulthard (Bri) RedBull-Ferrari 57 laps, Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 61 laps, Ralf Schumacher (Ger) Toyota 62 laps, Mark Webber (Aus) Williams-Cosworth 70 laps, Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Cosworth 71 laps.

Fastest lap: Michael Schumacher, 1:12.162 (lap 70).

Final world drivers' championship standings: 1. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 134, 2. Michael Schumacher (Ger) Ferrari 121, 3. Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 80, 4. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Renault 72, 5. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) McLaren 65, 6. Jenson Button (Bri) Honda 56, 7. Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Honda 30, 8. Juan Pablo Montoya (Col) 26, 9. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 23, 10. Ralf Schumacher (Ger) Toyota 20, 11. Pedro de la Rosa (Spa) McLaren 19, 12. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 15, 13. David Coulthard (Bri) Red Bull 14, 14. Mark Webber (Aus) Williams 7, 15. Jacques Villeneuve (Can) BMW Sauber 7, 16. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 6, 17. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 4, 18. Christian Klien (Aut) Red Bull 2, 19. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) Toro Rosso 1.

Final world constructors' championship standings: 1. Renault 206, 2. Ferrari 201, 3. McLaren-Mercedes 110, 4. Honda 86, 5. BMW Sauber 36, 6. Toyota 35, 7. RedBull-Ferrari 16, 8. Williams-Cosworth 11, 9. Toro Rosso-Cosworth 1.

[Rasputin]

Massa does not feel behind Kimi in Ferrari

That thinks that the paper of Felipe Massa is going to be the one of secondary in Ferrari mistakes, at least if one relies on the roll that it has determined to carry out in 2007. "Until now I have helped my equipment to cover the holes, but the things have changed", assured Massa in declarations to ` Gazzetta dello Sport'.

She was not official but everything aimed at that the equipment orders were habitual in Ferrari and all went directed to benefit Michael Schumacher. Massa thinks that "the next year I do not believe that they force to let to me pass to Kimi. He is a great pilot, but he arrives at a new equipment and he will have to gain the site. It will be a great right battle but ".

The Brazilian opened after the G. P. of Brazil like an ambitious and anxious pilot. The victory injected a dose to him of sincerity and began to talk a lot. The escudero faithful of Schumacher kept awake his great secret: "Michael said to me in June in Canada that was going away to retire. I knew it long before that he publicly said it in the circuit of Monza. I knew to keep the secret well ".

[Rasputin]

McLaren will present/display in January the single-seater of Fernando Alonso

McLaren will present/display in the month January in Valencia the single-seater with which Fernando Alonso, bichampion of the world, will run the next season. According to they announced consellerias Valencian of Economy, Property and Use and the one of Education, Culture and Sports, this act will be made in the City of the Arts and Sciences.

In addition, both organisms indicated that the Asturian one, that this season has left escudería Renault after two years of successes, will be present next to the head of McLaren Group, Rum Dennis.

From the two consellerias stands out that "the importance of this event" will locate once again "to the Valencian Community in forward edge of the world-wide sport" and will contribute "to the consolidation of the tourism, the economy and to the impulse of the use generation".

[Rasputin]

Michael Schumacher will be the "superassistant" of Jean Todt

The ex- German pilot Michael Schumacher, retired of the competition at the end of one season in which the Spanish Fernando Alonso (Renault) proclaimed world-wide champion, has announced that from now on will be the "superassistant" of the French Jean Todt in escudería Italian of Formula 1 Ferrari.

"I will try to take advantage of the best possible way the knowledge of Michael for the sport, technical and strategic decisions. Michael will not have the obligation to be present in the factory, nor in the tests or the Great Prizes, but he will be indispensable for the important decisions ", has declared in Monza Todt, delegated administrator of Ferrari.

Schumacher, seven times champion of the world, did announced of its immediate future in the occasion of the denominated "Ferrari Days", that annually to end of championship place in the automobile race track of Monza takes. In this occasion, with the presence of 45,000 people, also it served to say good bye to the German after retired announced his of Formula 1.

"So far I do not believe that there is necessity to specify what I will do in Ferrari. It will be in December when I will begin to understand exactly how I can adapt to my new life. Now desire a total distance to think solely about my life and, later, to know what I can do for Ferrari ", has commented Schumacher.


"Confidence and freedom" in Ferrari
The German, in addition, has indicated that Ferrari has given "to confidence and freedom him" to make its elections. "I am in a unique and extraordinary situation. I deserve some month to think about my life ", aimed. In the "Ferrari Days" they were present, among others, and in addition to Schmacher and Todt, the president of the company/signature of the ' Cavallino Rampanté, Luca Lamb I gave Montezemolo, the Brazilian pilot Felipe Massa and Ross Brawn, who in November will stop being the technical director of escudería. Indeed, on the future of Ross Brawn, the president of Ferrari confirmed that sabáticó with the possible possibility will be taken a ' year of returning to escudería.

Also, he has confirmed himself that Jean Todt, technical person in charge of escudería, will also occupy the position of administrator delegated of the company Ferrari SA (the joint-stock company that includes all the relative one of the company/signature of the ' Cavallinó, among them also the part of Formula One), as it were designated days ago by the administration advice of the same one. "I do not have time to occupy to me of everything. To Todt him desire the best thing, has worked day and night, and the appointment of delegated administrator is deserved inasmuch as it has made ", has commented Lamb I gave Montezemolo.

On the other hand, Paolo Martinelli, until now responsible for motors of escudería of Formula 1, will happen to be the new person in charge of the gasoline motors of the FIAT group, excluding Ferrari.