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Schumacher heads Alonso on F1 wins

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SHANGHAI, China -- Ferrari's Michael Schumacher swept to a sensational victory at a rain-soaked Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday to seize the Formula One championship lead by the slimmest of margins.

The seven-times world champion pulled level with Renault's Fernando Alonso on points, 116-116, but is ahead 7-6 on victories with two races remaining.

Starting sixth on the grid, Schumacher roared into the lead 15 laps from the finish to take the chequered flag 3.1 seconds clear of his Spanish rival.

"I went into the race today with the motto of 'damage limitation'. That I was able to get the victory makes it all the more beautiful," said Schumacher.

Italian Giancarlo Fisichella was third, allowing Renault to retake the lead in the constructors' championship by a single point after Ferrari's Brazilian Felipe Massa collided with Briton David Coulthard and failed to finish.

Briton Jenson Button was fourth for Honda, ahead of McLaren's Pedro de la Rosa, after last lap chaos behind the leaders.

Alonso had led from pole position, with Fisichella acting as a roadblock behind him, and looked to be steaming to his second successive Chinese victory until tire problems on a drying track scuppered his chances.

"The winner is Michael and he deserves the victory. Today we lost a big opportunity," said Alonso. "There were nine or 10 laps when I was completely off the pace and I think the race finished there."

Schumacher had not previously scored a point in two disappointing previous appearances in China, with last year's race one of the worst of his career, but his 91st grand prix victory ended any suggestions of a local jinx.

Down to the wire

It also made it almost inevitable that the title duel will go down to the wire at the final round in Brazil on October 22 when Schumacher will contest his last career race before retirement.

"Now we go to the last two races," he said happily. "I believe that we will have to wait to the last before a decision can be reached.

"I really look forward to it."

Schumacher has not led the standings since 2004, when he took his seventh title, but he has tasted victory in Japan and Brazil before and could easily win both again.

If he needed any omens, it came when Alonso dropped his magnum of champagne over the podium balcony to a Renault mechanic below -- who failed to grasp the bottle and saw it smash into smithereens.

Schumacher's was fielded safely.

In a race full of incident, particularly in the later stages when teams wrestled with a tire dilemma on a damp track, Schumacher was more than 20 seconds behind Alonso before roaring back into contention.

"The most critical decision was after the first pitstop, which tires to go to, and it was obviously a gamble," said Schumacher, who swept past Fisichella as the Italian emerged ahead of him from his second pitstop.

Honda's Rubens Barrichello finished sixth and Nick Heidfeld seventh for BMW Sauber.

Australian Mark Webber ended Williams' dismal run of 10 races without a point by finishing eighth.

McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen, Schumacher's successor at Ferrari next season, retired with a throttle problem seven laps after he had overtaken Fisichella for second place on lap 13.

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