Horny Harry
22-07-2002, 21:05
Schumacher wins fifth F1 championship
July 22 2002
Magny-Cours, France: After sealing his fifth Formula One championship, it seems Michael Schumacher has conquered every record in his sport.
But the Ferrari driver said he still has quite a few victories left in him, even after after clinching his latest triumph with a first-place finish in the French Grand Prix.
"We are in such good shape team-wise, performance-wise, we can keep that sort of performance for quite a bit longer and keep having races like we have had today," the 33-year-old German said after today's win.
"It is simply the pleasure of racing and trying to achieve as many good races as we can and ultimately you achieve, hopefully, a further championship."
Schumacher and Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio, the legendary driver of the 1950s, now share the record for most Formula One championships - five each.
In his backup Ferrari, Schumacher passed Kimi Raikkonen's McLaren-Mercedes to take the lead when the Finnish driver's brakes locked on a patch of oil in the 68th lap of the 72-lap race.
The German made the pass under a yellow flag, but McLaren-Mercedes did not challenge the move.
Briton David Coulthard and Raikkonen finished second and third for McLaren-Mercedes.
Australian Mark Webber was an impressive eighth for Minardi - his best result since finishing fifth on debut at the Australian grand prix in March.
"Going into the race in terms of pace, I wasn't expecting to be able to race the people we ultimately went toe to toe with today," said Webber.
"The guys did a superb job during the pitstops, we didn't have one problem in the race and I was very happy with my consistency - which all went together to make a great afternoon for the team."
Schumacher has been virtually unchallenged of late on the track, supplied by the sport's best supporting staff in Ferrari.
Since moving from the Benetton team (where he won his first two titles in 1994-'95) to Ferrari after the 1995 season, the German has evolved into the most dominant driver in years.
"The championship is the sort of target you would like to achieve, certainly," he said.
"And after we have achieved this, we can obviously now concentrate race by race and just enjoy it and do the best we can - and that's hopefully getting in some more exciting races and maybe good positions."
Coulthard is one of only two non-Ferrari drivers to win an F1 race this year. The other driver is Michael Schumacher's brother, Ralf Schumacher.
"I actually didn't expect us to be in the lead," said Coulthard, who also led the race at one point.
"We're still a little bit behind (Ferrari), but it's encouraging for the future. It was a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon from where I was sitting."
While Coulthard was beaming with pleasure, Raikkonen looked to be on the verge of tears in the post-race press conference.
"I haven't had much good luck this year," he said. "Of course, it was my mistake," he added, referring to the skid that cost him the lead.
AP/AAP
July 22 2002
Magny-Cours, France: After sealing his fifth Formula One championship, it seems Michael Schumacher has conquered every record in his sport.
But the Ferrari driver said he still has quite a few victories left in him, even after after clinching his latest triumph with a first-place finish in the French Grand Prix.
"We are in such good shape team-wise, performance-wise, we can keep that sort of performance for quite a bit longer and keep having races like we have had today," the 33-year-old German said after today's win.
"It is simply the pleasure of racing and trying to achieve as many good races as we can and ultimately you achieve, hopefully, a further championship."
Schumacher and Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio, the legendary driver of the 1950s, now share the record for most Formula One championships - five each.
In his backup Ferrari, Schumacher passed Kimi Raikkonen's McLaren-Mercedes to take the lead when the Finnish driver's brakes locked on a patch of oil in the 68th lap of the 72-lap race.
The German made the pass under a yellow flag, but McLaren-Mercedes did not challenge the move.
Briton David Coulthard and Raikkonen finished second and third for McLaren-Mercedes.
Australian Mark Webber was an impressive eighth for Minardi - his best result since finishing fifth on debut at the Australian grand prix in March.
"Going into the race in terms of pace, I wasn't expecting to be able to race the people we ultimately went toe to toe with today," said Webber.
"The guys did a superb job during the pitstops, we didn't have one problem in the race and I was very happy with my consistency - which all went together to make a great afternoon for the team."
Schumacher has been virtually unchallenged of late on the track, supplied by the sport's best supporting staff in Ferrari.
Since moving from the Benetton team (where he won his first two titles in 1994-'95) to Ferrari after the 1995 season, the German has evolved into the most dominant driver in years.
"The championship is the sort of target you would like to achieve, certainly," he said.
"And after we have achieved this, we can obviously now concentrate race by race and just enjoy it and do the best we can - and that's hopefully getting in some more exciting races and maybe good positions."
Coulthard is one of only two non-Ferrari drivers to win an F1 race this year. The other driver is Michael Schumacher's brother, Ralf Schumacher.
"I actually didn't expect us to be in the lead," said Coulthard, who also led the race at one point.
"We're still a little bit behind (Ferrari), but it's encouraging for the future. It was a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon from where I was sitting."
While Coulthard was beaming with pleasure, Raikkonen looked to be on the verge of tears in the post-race press conference.
"I haven't had much good luck this year," he said. "Of course, it was my mistake," he added, referring to the skid that cost him the lead.
AP/AAP