Crafty Schuey makes it a China crisis for Alonso

TYRES and the genius of Michael Schumacher were the vital factors as the German edged closer to an eighth world title with victory at the Chinese Grand Prix.

Schumacher pushed world champion Fernando Alonso into second place to move top of the drivers’ standings for the first time this season. The two are level on 116 points but Schumacher has won seven races to Alonso’s six.

Schumacher’s Bridgestone tyres had been blamed for his poor performance in the rain in qualifying. But with the damp track drying slowly as the race unfolded, the conditions played into the hands of the Ferrari driver who claimed his 91st win in Formula One.

“We knew from Saturday morning that if the track dried out, with our tyres we wouldn’t have an issue with that,” said Schumacher. “Intermediate tyres and wet tyres work well in these conditions.”

Things looked very different in the early exchanges as Alonso seared away from pole position and built up a massive lead. By the ninth lap he was 22 seconds clear of Schumacher, who had yet to crack the top three, and it was Kimi Raikkonen who was leading the chase of the Renault.

Raikkonen had a blistering start, moving up from fifth place on the grid to third by the time the cars had negotiated the first corner and by lap 13 he had found his way past Fisichella and into second. Alonso, though, held a comfortable lead and, despite setting the fastest lap of the race to that point, Raikkonen was a spent force by lap 19 when he pulled off the track, retiring due to an engine failure.

As the track began to dry, Schumacher started to make headway.

The German pitted on lap 21 only to take on fuel and a lap later Alonso came in, changing his front tyres. It was to prove a crucial moment as Alonso’s new tyres struggled in the conditions, allowing both Schumacher and Fisichella to scythe into the Spaniard’s advantage.

Fisichella had passed his Renault team-mate six laps later and Schumacher had pushed Alonso into third one lap after that.

Fisichella tried to pull clear of Schumacher but the Ferrari remained large in the Italian’s wing mirrors until pitting for dry tyres on lap 40. One lap later Fisichella did the same, emerging from the pit lane just ahead of Schumacher before misjudging turn one, allowing Schumacher to take the lead on the inside.

Alonso embarked on a late charge that saw him storm past Fisichella, but Schumacher held on to win.