Schumacher show rolls on

MICHAEL Schumacher has become the most successful driver in the history of grand prix racing after scoring his 52nd Formula One victory in the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps yesterday.

The race for this year's drivers' championship may be over but Schumacher and Ferrari have continued their winning ways, with the German star recording his eighth win of the season to finally clinch Alain Prost's all-time race-win record.

McLaren's David Coulthard finished second to maintain both his and the Mercedes-Benz team's hold on their respective second places in the drivers' and constructors' championships.

In a surprise result, the final podium place went to Benetton's Giancarlo Fisichella in his best finish so far this season. Mika Hakkinen continued his slow climb back into form to finish fourth, adding valuable points to McLaren's constructors'points tally, while Rubens Barrichello took fifth for Ferrari ahead of Jean Alesi in a Jordan Honda.

Schumacher kept his cool during the event despite the race being interrupted on a number of occasions. The first interruption occurred before the start lights went out when fourth place qualifier Heinz-Harald Frentzen stalled his Prost Acer on the grid. Take two and pole-itter Juan Pablo Montoya stalled his Williams BMW, forcing a second formation lap and a third start attempt.

Frentzen and Montoya started from the back of the grid, but the race got underway this time with Ralf Schumacher leading away from his brother Michael and Rubens Barrichello. But the race only lasted four laps before a mid-corner touch between Luciano Burti and Eddie Irvine sent both drivers flying off the track, with Burti ending up in a tyre wall.

The spectacular high-speed crash brought out the safety car, but the race was then red-flagged as marshals, medics and Irvine rushed to Burti's aid.

After a short delay the crash scene was cleared and the race was re-started a fourth and final time, with the race distance shortened to 37 laps from the scheduled 44 laps.

But even this time things didn't go to plan, as the Williams team was caught out by the 15-second rule that forces pit crews to clear the grid, leaving Ralf Schumacher stranded with his car six inches off the ground on jacks.

Once the grid cleared he was able to get going, but by then the Williams team had gone from heroes to zeros - from having the top two qualifiers to both drivers effectively starting from the rear of the grid.

Even though both titles have been won for the 2001 season, Schumacher and Ferrari have extended their points margins following the Belgian GP. Coulthard's second place gives him a nine-point buffer back to Barrichello, with Ralf Schumacher a further four points adrift.

McLaren has pulled clear of Williams by 22 points, after the BMW-powered team failed to score any points in this round. Alesi's single point for sixth place has moved Jordan into equal fifth place with BAR.

* Australian Mark Webber's hopes of winning the Formula 3000 championship ended at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit yesterday, when he crashed out of the 11th round of the series on the second lap. Webber needed to win this race and the final round to have a chance of taking the title, but he lost control of his Super Nova on the notorious Eau Rouge corner and ended up in the tyre wall.

Webber hobbled away from the wreck with minor injuries to his knee and now has a battle on his hands to retain the runner-up position with just one round remaining - Webber is tied for second place with Czechoslovakia's Tomas Enge on 39 points. Pole-sitter Ricardo Sperafico won the race ahead of series leader Justin Wilson, who became the first British driver to win the F3000 title.

RACE RESULTS:
1 Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) 1hr08:05.002
2 D Coulthard (McLaren Mercedes) +10.098
3 G Fisichella (Benetton Renault) +27.700
4 M Hakkinen (McLaren Mercedes) +36.087
5 R Barrichello (Ferrari) +54.521
6 J Alesi (Jordan Honda) +59.684
7 R Schumacher (Williams BMW) +59.986
8 J Villeneuve (BAR) +1:04.970
9 H-H Frentzen (Prost Acer) +1 lap
10 J Verstappen (Arrows Asiatech) +1 lap DRIVERS' CHAMPIONSHIP:
1 M Schumacher (GER) 104
2 Coulthard (SCO) 57
3 Barrichello (BRA) 48
4 R Schumacher (GER) 44
5 Hakkinen (FIN) 24
6 Montoya (COL) 15
=7 Villeneuve (CAN) 11
=7 Heidfeld (GER) 11
=9 Trulli (ITA) 9
=9 Raikkonen (FIN) 9 CONSTRUCTORS' CHAMPIONSHIP:
1 Ferrari 152
2 McLaren 81
3 Williams 59
4 Sauber 20
=5 BAR 16
=5 Jordan 16
7 Benetton 10
8 Jaguar 5
9 Prost 4
10 Arrows 1 Next round (15 of 17): Italian Grand Prix, Monza, September 16