Triumphant Schumi throws down title challenge

Throughout the weekend the Schumacher/Ferrari/Bridgestone combination had a small, but definite, performance advantage over the rival Alonso/Renault/Michelin package, only a sublime qualifying lap from Alonso denying Schumacher pole position.

The pair continued to be closely matched for much of the race but, after shadowing Alonso through the first two stints, Schumacher used his superior pace to overhaul the Renault by pitting three laps later than him at the second round of stops.

When the dust had settled he held a comfortable lead and serenely reeled off the remaining laps to his 86th career win.

Far from being able to mount a counter-attack, Alonso had to keep an eye on his mirrors as Felipe Massa in the second Ferrari and McLaren’s Kimi Raikkonen kept him honest all the way to the flag.

The start of the race went exactly according to plan for Alonso as he streaked away from pole into a clear lead and Schumacher was almost out-dragged by team-mate Massa into the first corner.

Getting through the tight turn one without incident is always a hazardous proposition at the Nurburgring but thankfully this year there was no mass pile-up.

There was a minor skirmish, however, as Ralf Schumacher’s Toyota tagged Vitantonio Liuzzi’s Toro Rosso, knocking the Italian into the path of David Coulthard’s sister Red Bull Racing car.

DC had to retire soon afterwards with damaged steering while Liuzzi tried to nurse his STR-1 back to the pits with a broken nosecone and punctured right-rear tyre.

He only made it as far as Turn 10 before spinning and stalling, and with the Toro Rosso lying broadside across the track in a 100mph S-bend, a brief safety car period ensued.

At the restart it was Alonso from Schumacher, Massa and Jenson Button, who had got off the line beautifully at the original start and made up two spots.

As in previous races this year, however, the Briton struggled to generate sufficient tyre temperature in his Honda following the safety car interlude and Raikkonen pounced at the top chicane to take over fourth place.

It was the start of a long afternoon for Button, who steadily lost touch with Raikkonen through the first stint before retiring at half-distance with a blown engine.

Up at the front Alonso and Schumacher were trading fastest laps, the Ferrari lurking around a second behind in the turbulent wake of the Renault.

The big question was how much fuel they each had on board; had Renault short-filled Alonso in qualifying to get him track position, and if so, would the Spaniard pay the price at the first pit stop exchange?

The first question was answered when Alonso peeled into the pits on lap 17 for a 7.6s stop.

Surprisingly, though, Schumacher followed suit on the next lap, and a small mistake on his in-lap ensured that he gained no advantage from pitting later and the status quo was re-established.

Raikkonen, who had started with a heavier fuel load as per McLaren’s normal strategy, then enjoyed a brief spell in the lead and responded with a string of quick laps.

It wasn’t enough to move the Finn up a place, however, and he rejoined on Massa’s tail in fourth.

Alonso’s pace waxed and waned during the race’s middle stages but, as the second pit stops approached, he and Schumacher began to up the ante in the fastest lap stakes, their times often differing by little more than a few hundredths of a second.

Schumacher was still 1.2s in arrears – nowhere near close enough to make a passing attempt – but once again the pit stops offered the chance to break the stalemate.

This time Ferrari and Schumacher seized that opportunity with both hands.

Ross Brawn had shrewdly given his man a little extra fuel at the first stop, and the German was able to stretch his tank three laps further than Alonso.

He responded with three blistering laps in the low-1m32s range, and combined with a stop that was two seconds shorter than Alonso’s (partly because he had less fuel to take on), he was home free.

In fact, he emerged with an almost luxurious lead of 5.9 seconds having decisively shaken off Alonso’s challenge.

The Spaniard didn’t seem entirely happy on his final set of tyres and slowly began to slip into the clutches of Massa and Raikkonen during the closing laps, though the order remained unchanged.

European Grand Prix result (provisional) - 60 laps

1. M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari 1h35m58.765s

2. ALONSO Renault +3.8s

3. MASSA Ferrari +4.4s

4. RAIKKONEN McLaren +4.9s

5. BARRICHELLO Honda +1m12.9s

6. FISICHELLA Renault +1m14.1s

7. ROSBERG Williams +1m14.6s

8. VILLENEUVE BMW +1m29.4s

9. TRULLI Toyota +1 lap

10. HEIDFELD BMW +1 lap

11. SPEED Toro Rosso +1 lap

12. MONTEIRO Midland +1 lap

13. ALBERS Midland +1 lap

R. R.SCHUMACHER Toyota +8 laps

R. MONTOYA McLaren +8 laps

R. SATO Super Aguri +15 laps

R. MONTAGNY Super Aguri +31 laps

R. BUTTON Honda +32 laps

R. KLIEN Red Bull +32 laps

R. WEBBER Williams +48 laps

R. COULTHARD Red Bull +58 laps

R. LIUZZI Toro Rosso +60 lap
Fastest lap: M.SCHUMACHER 1m32.099s

Credits: Oneshift News Team