Schumacher closes in on record sixth title
The 34-year-old German captured his sixth victory of the season and second in a row despite starting seventh, but pole-sitter Kimi Raikkonen’s runner-up effort denied the Ferrari driver his fourth successive title.
Schumacher now has 92 points to 83 for Finland’s Raikkonen, whose only chance at thwarting Schumacher is to guide his McLaren Mercedes to victory October 12 in the season-ending Japanese Grand Prix while the German finishes ninth or worse.
The result left Schumacher pumping his fist and jumping for joy on the podium, knowing his title was all-but secured with his 70th career triumph.
Colombia’s Juan Pablo Montoya, second in the title chase when the day began, collided with Schumacher’s teammate Rubens Barrichello on the second lap and took a 10-second penalty that doomed his title bid.
Montoya settled for sixth and ranks third in the points race at 82, but a win for the BMW Williams ace in two weeks at Suzuka could only match Schumacher, who would claim the crown by virtue of more victories this season.
The 73-lap showdown over a 4.192km course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was struck by a downpour on lap 22. Schumacher went to his Bridgestone rain tyres a lap later and kept his grip on the title as others skidded off course.
Argentina’s Juan Manuel Fangio won five F1 titles in the 1950s. Schumacher matched that record last year with his third crown in a row, having also won the championship in 1994 and 1995.
Schumacher won in 1 hr, 14 mins, 35.6 seconds to defeat Raikkonen by 18.2 seconds.
Schumacher passed Raikkonen for third place on lap 27, Ferrari’s tyres proving superior to Raikkonen’s Michelins on a rain-slickened track.
Schumacher overtook compatriot Heinz-Harald Frentzen on lap 32 and passed Britain’s Jenson Button five laps later to claim his first lead of the race. Button’s BAR Honda shut down at the pit exit moments later, ending his day.
With Montoya and Raikkonen well off what they needed to stay in reach of the title, Schumacher was in position to clinch the crown with 36 laps remaining.
Even as Schumacher raced untested, Montoya and Raikkonen worked to improve their positions.
Raikkonen passed Frentzen on the main straightaway with 19 laps remaining to grab second place, the minimum he needed to deny Schumacher a title clinch and keep alive his slim hopes of becoming F1’s youngest-ever champion at age 23.
Montoya passed Jordan’s Giancarlo Fisichella for sixth with five laps remaining, but with Frentzen third, Italy’s Jarno Trulli of Renault fourth and Germany’s Nick Heidfeld of Sauber Petronas fifth, he was one spot shy.
Montoya’s title hopes were dashed by a 10-second penalty after his collision with Barrichello.
Montoya bumped the Brazilian out of the race on the second turn of the third lap, sending the defending US Grand Prix champion into a sand pit.
But the 2000 Indianapolis 500 winner would pay dearly minutes later as race stewards assessed him a drive-through penalty for causing the collision, tossing him from the top-five spot he needed to sustain his title bid.
Montoya was a lap down as the final kilometres clicked by, the rival equipment failures he needed to stay in the title hunt not forthcoming.
Threatening black clouds had teams pondering their rain strategy as cars lined up for the start.
Raikkonen sped into the lead followed by France’s Olivier Panis and the Schumachers, the first four drivers on the inside line surging ahead as front-row starter Barrichello came fifth and Montoya seventh.
Rain began after leaders finished their first pit stops. Michael Schumacher refuelled on lap 20 and was barely on the track before the rain began, sending him back into the pits for rain tyres two laps later.
Ralf Schumacher, Montoya’s Williams BMW teammate, was not as fortunate. He skidded and crashed out after 22 laps
