Schumacher Leads Title Chase After Chinese Victory

Michael Schumacher
Race: Victory
A hard fought but very lucky victory for Schumacher has given the German ace the lead in the Drivers' Championship. Schumacher put in a very strong performance to climb up from 6th on the grid in the wet, but in the end it was Renault and Fernando Alonso's error that brought Schumacher the win.

The key to Michael's victory was being in the right place at the right time and not making any mistakes. This brought Michael the victory and a tie with Fernando Alonso in the Championship chase. Although, since Michael has one more victory than Fernando, Schumacher is technically in the lead. This is what Michael had to say about his surprise and much needed victory:

"I am so happy! I want to thank the team for this result, as they did a fantastic job. After the start, I was surprised to find that I could match the pace of those ahead of me, which was better than I had expected. After a while, I was able to close up on Fisichella. I thought that if I could pass him, even if I could not win, then at least I would only lose two points to Fernando and given where I started that would have been a good result.

It was very important to reduce the gap to the Renaults when the track began to dry. The crucial moment came with the switch to dry tyres. I knew that even if Fisichella managed to stay ahead of me after his stop, I would have the chance to pass him going into the first corner as he would be in trouble with the temperature of his tyres and that is what happened.

In the final laps, I drove very carefully. I had a good gap but the track conditions were getting difficult, however, I was never worried about getting caught. Now we go to Suzuka, a track that I love. But it is difficult to make any predictions and as usual, tyre performance will be crucial."

October 1, 2006