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Schumacher wins record sixth title
SUZUKA, Japan, -- Michael Schumacher became world champion for a record sixth time at the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka, despite having one of his worst days as a Formula One driver. He owed much to Ferrari team mate Rubens Barrichello. who won the race and, more importantly, held off Schumacher's rival for the title, Kimi Raikkonen. The Finn finished second but Schumacher's eighth place was enough to guarantee the world championship for the fourth successive year. It also enabled him to surpass the five titles won by legendary Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio during the fifties. McClaren's Raikkonen needed to win the race and then hope that Schumacher finished out of the points, to deny the German his title victory. Barrichello drove an admirable race to hold off both the McClarens of Raikkonen and David Coulthard. Even so it was a struggle for Schumacher to make sure of the title, which he secured with a two-point advantage over Raikkonen. He started from 14th on the grid, his worst position since 1995, and then slipped to 19th at one stage when he needed to make an early pit stop to have the nose on his Ferrari replaced after colliding with the BAR-Honda of Takuma Sato. Then, in the closing stages, he had to resist a strong challenge from brother Ralf in a Williams, who tried desperately to squeeze past him before his machine spun off after making contact with the back of the Ferrari. Barrichello drove smoothly from the pole and although he lost first place to Williams' Juan Pablo Montoya on the first lap, he reclaimed the lead on the 10th when the Colombian was forced out of the race by technical problems. Tough year"It has been a tough year, a tough late stage of the season and a very tough race, one of my toughest ever," said Schumacher. "But the team and Rubens did a fantastic job. "The feeling of winning has not sunk in yet. I can feel for the team but not for myself yet. I am exhausted and proud of what we have achieved." "Most of my championships have been secured with a win on the track. Today I did it with eighth place which gives me mixed emotions," he added. "A fifth constructors' title in a row is a fantastic achievement. People wrote us off and said many outspoken things. "But Ferrari never give up. We are a huge family and we always fight back." Ferrari technical chief Ross Brawn agreed it had been a testing afternoon. "It will take a few hours for this to sink in," he said. "Rubens did a fantastic job and Michael made it entertaining. It has been a tough year and there were times in the year when we didn't know if we were going to do it." Barrichello, who added the win to his British Grand Prix this season, said he was just happy to have played a part in the Schumacher and Ferrari success story. "I am very proud man," said the Brazilian.
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