28.09.2003 MICHAEL SCHUMACHER ON THE BRINK OF THE WORLD TITLE AFTER STORMING WIN AT INDIANAPOLIS
 Michael
Schumacher is now within a single point of taking a record breaking sixth
Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship crown after what can only be described as one of
the German’s classic drives. This was victory number seventy for Michael, his
fifty-one first with Ferrari and his sixth of the season. These statistics show
the effect of this season’s new points scoring system, as despite this
impressive tally, Schumacher still needs one point to take the title, while his
last remaining rival, Kimi Raikkonen has only won one grand prix this year. For
the McLaren-Mercedes man to take the championship, he has to win in Suzuka in a
fortnight’s time, with Michael failing to score.
Rubens Barrichello failed to finish the race he won last year. Bogged down at the start with gearbox electronics problems, he retired on lap 3, after an impatient Juan Pablo Montoya barged the Brazilian off the track in his attempt to get by. The Stewards decided that the BMW-Williams driver had caused “an avoidable accident” and brought him for a drive through penalty. Combined with problems at his first refuelling stop, this effectively put the Colombian out of contention for the title, although he went on to finish sixth. With his team-mate Ralf Schumacher retiring, the Scuderia has now retaken the lead in the Constructors’ Championship, heading BMW-Williams by a slim three points. Schumacher’s race was a model of consistency, speed and intelligence. He made up three places from his seventh spot on the grid right from the first lap, passing Olivier Panis in the Toyota to go second behind pole man Raikkonen on lap 5. One lap later the light rain got heavier, but not for long and in the greasy conditions, Michael lost ground and Coulthard, Montoya and Alonso all past him. After leading for one lap, Schumacher pitted on lap 20, fitting dry weather tyres, however at that precise moment, the rain intensified, so he headed straight back down pit lane next time round, for a set of rain tyres. When the track was at its wettest, a combination of the Scuderia driver’s skill at the wheel and the Bridgestone tyres set the groundwork for this great win. Michael moved ahead of Heinz-Harald Frentzen in the Sauber to go second on lap 33 and set off in pursuit of Jenson Button who was leading for BAR-Honda. He passed the Englishman on lap 38. As the track began to dry, Schumacher had to work to look after his rain tyres, chosing to drive off line to keep them cool in what was left of the surface water. On lap 48, he made his final pit stop, changing back to dry tyres, temporarily handing the lead to Frentzen, who would eventually finish third. In the closing stages, Schumacher eased off a small amount, but still finished comfortably ahead of Raikkonen. It was also a good day for the Ferrari-powered Saubers, as Nick Heidfeld brought the second car home in fifth place behind the Renault of Jarno Trulli. Behind Montoya, the remaining points places went to Giancarlo Fisichella, seventh for Jordan and Justin Wilson picking up his first ever F1 point, coming home eighth in the Jaguar. FERRARI RACE REPORT Michael Schumacher: 1st 1:33.35.997 73 laps chassis 229, Rubens Barrichello: Rtd. - 2 laps chassis 233, Temperatures: air 12/17°C, track 16/20 ° C. Seventh win of the season, the sixth with Michael Schumacher. This was victory number 166 from 685 grands prix starts for Scuderia Ferrari, the ninth in the United States Grand Prix. For Michael it was win number seventy and his fifty first for Ferrari. Jean Todt: 'This was an incredibly intense race! The changing weather meant it was very easy to make mistakes. Michael performed perfectly and has taken a good step forward towards a sixth world title, while the Scuderia is back in the lead in the Constructors’ classification. Rubens was slowed at the start with an electrical problem in the gearbox and then ended up off the track after being hit by Montoya. That left just Michael to defend our colours. Thanks to the Bridgestone tyres, his bravura and the work of the whole team, he managed to take a great win. We are very happy and could not be anything but, because, for us, working for Ferrari is something special and work with passion. This victory is the best reward for all the efforts made day in and day out. We are very happy for Bridgestone, who must take much of the credit for this result. I am also very happy for Sauber, who thanks to today’s performance, move from ninth to fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship. I know how seriously Peter Sauber and his group go about their work, so I can imagine how important is this result for them. We still have two weeks of hard work ahead of us and this win does not change our programme. We must prepare as well as possible for Suzuka, where we will do our utmost to reach the goals we set ourselves at the start of the season.' Michael Schumacher: “This was a great and important win. I am so pleased and it was an emotional and fantastic day, after not such a good qualifying. It means a lot at a crucial stage in the championship and the tifosi have carried us to this position. Tyres played a crucial role today. At the first stop, we had decided to stay with dry tyres, but the rain got stronger as I came into pit lane and I did suggest changing the choice. But it would have been too much of a mess. So I came straight back in again for wets and they were unbelievable in these conditions. As the two other title contenders had also fitted dries, I knew I could close the gap to them because our tyres were good. Before the race, I did think I could get into the top three and I made a very good start and managed to make up some places and get into the fight. There was a lot of pressure but we got the right result. Bridgestone has been criticised this year, so this result will be a good boost for them. As for my move on Panis, I was aware of the yellow flags but I passed him well before them and then backed off early to be safe. Now we are in a good position for the last race, but of course we to finish first, first you have to finish. But we have a reliable car and I will be looking for another win.' Rubens Barrichello: 'I did not have a good start as I encountered problems selecting second gear as the automatic upshift was not working and I had to select the gears manually. I lost time and people overtook me as I dealt with the problem. With Montoya, we were running side by side. I thought I had left him enough space, but he touched me and I spun. But on the positive side, this was a great day for the whole team which is now ahead in both championships. I am a little bit disappointed about today, but as I am part of the team I can share the delight at Michael’s win.' Ross Brawn: 'In the end, it was a fantastic race in which Michael demonstrated his qualities in difficult circumstances. We put him on the wrong tyres at his first pit stop as we were expecting only light rain at that time. The tyres worked very well, except when the track was very greasy and only a bit wet. For the rest of the time, the Bridgestones were the best tyres today. But Michael was really the key to this victory. Now, we go to the last race needing to score one point in the Drivers’ Championship and do all we can to also take the Constructors’ title. But it is going to be a tough couple of weeks, during which we will work hard and we cannot take anything for granted.'
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