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![]() Schumacher romps to another record
![]() Schumacher was in a class of his own at Spa
Michael Schumacher has put his name to two more Formula One records with an imperious victory in the Belgian Grand Prix. The German, who has already won the world title in record time in 2002, has now won 10 races this season - beating the record he previously shared with Nigel Mansell. It was also his sixth victory at the demanding Spa-Francorchamps circuit, moving himself clear of the late Ayrton Senna.
His Ferrari team-mate Rubens Barrichello was second, with Williams-BMW driver Juan Pablo Montoya winning a battle with David Coulthard's McLaren-Mercedes for third.
Schumacher, who now has 63 career wins, started the race from pole position and dominated it throughout, losing the lead only briefly to Barrichello during his two pit stops. The German set a succession of new lap records while building his lead on his favourite track, leaving the mark at one minute 47.176 seconds. He was half a minute ahead of Barrichello before he eased off in the closing laps to ensure his car was not over-stressed. Schumacher said: "We hadn't expected anything like that. We were optimistic, but you never know what will happen in a race. "We made a good start and with Rubens in second place, the decision was to drive at our own pace and bring it home." The anticipated challenge from McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen, who qualified second, never materialised.
The Finn dropped behind Barrichello at the start and then lost another place to Montoya when he had a wild moment in the 150mph Pouhon corner on lap two. Raikkonen then lost another place to team-mate Coulthard at the first pit stops and eventually retired from fifth place with engine failure on lap 35. Coulthard finished fourth, ahead of the Williams of Ralf Schumacher. Montoya said: "This has been an outstanding outcome to a difficult weekend. "I am a bit surprised I could keep up with Kimi Raikkonen who had a very fast pace in the first part of the race. I really did not expect such a good result." Fifth place had looked set to go to Renault's Jarno Trulli, who drove a strong race, but the Italian retired, also with a broken engine, on lap 36.
He managed to close up again before the second pit stops. But the Williams stuttered when leaving the pits and he came out behind Trulli for the final portion of the race. The two were embarking on what was poised to be a superb battle when Trulli's car broke down. The retirements of Raikkonen and Trulli elevated the Jaguar of Eddie Irvine into the final points-scoring position. Jaguar have had a much more competitive weekend than usual, benefiting from Michelin's tyre advantage and a remodelled front suspension.
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