Michael Schumacher sent out an ominous title warning with an emphatic victory in the Brazilian Grand Prix in Sao Paulo today. The Ferrari driver beat McLaren's David Coulthard for a second successive win which extended his early world championship advantage to a massive 14 points.
Schumacher won by just over four seconds from Coulthard who celebrated his 29th birthday a day early with his first points of the season while Benetton's Giancarlo Fisichella was a distant third. And there was joy for Britain's 20-year-old prospect Jenson Button as he completed a memorable weekend by finishing his first race as a Formula One driver in seventh place for Williams BMW. McLaren's reigning world champion Mika Hakkinen retired while leading while there was huge Brazilian disappointment as local hero Rubens Barrichello's Ferrari engine blew-up.
Schumacher's triumph following his season-opening victory in Australia two weeks ago left him well clear of team-mate Barrichello, Coulthard and Fischichella heading into Ferrari's home race in Imola in two weeks time. Hakkinen suffered his second successive retirement while leading a race and he is now a massive 20 points behind his great rival for the drivers' crown. The Finn, who was over 12 seconds ahead of Schumacher, signalled he was in trouble at the end of lap 30 by lifting his arm as he drifted into the pit-lane and drove straight into the McLaren garage.
Eddie Irvine was left still searching for his first points for Jaguar Racing as he slid out of control and crashed into a barrier on lap 21 when lying seventh. Team-mate Johnny Herbert is also still pointless as he retired 19 laps from the finish to complete another disappointing weekend for the former Stewart team. Jordan got their first points through Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Jarno Trulli who were fourth and fifth while Ralf Schumacher finished sixth.
Results of Brazilian Grand Prix: Race distance: 71 laps (4.309 kms) 1.Michael Schumacher (Germany) Ferrari 1 hour 31 minutes and 35.271 seconds (average speed 200.4 kph) 2. David Coulthard (Britain) McLaren 4.3 seconds behind 3. Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy) Benetton 39.9 4. Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Germany) Jordan 42.3 5. Jarno Trulli (Italy) Jordan 72.8 6. Ralf Schumacher (Germany) Williams 1 lap 7. Jenson Button (Britain) Williams 1 lap 8. Jos Verstappen (Netherlands) Arrows 1 lap 9. Pedro de la Rosa (Spain) Arrows 1 lap 10. Ricardo Zonta (Brazil) BAR 2 laps 11. Gaston Mazzacane (Argentina) Minardi 2 laps
Did not finish:
Johnny Herbert (Britain) Jaguar 51 laps completed
Marc Gene (Spain) Minardi 31 laps
Mika Hakkinen (Finland) McLaren 30 laps
Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Ferrari 27 laps
Eddie Irvine (Britain) Jaguar 20 laps
Jacques Villeneuve (Canada) BAR 16 laps
Jean Alesi (France) Prost 11 laps
Nick Heidfeld (Germany) Prost 9 laps
Alexander Wurz (Austria) Benetton 6 laps
Fastest lap: M. Schumacher (1 minute, 14.755 seconds)
Overall standings (after two races) Drivers: 1 M Schumacher (Ger) 20pts, 2 R Barrichello (Bra), D Coulthard (Gbr) & G Fisichella (Ita) 6, 5 R Schumacher (Ger) 5, 6 J Villeneuve (Can) & H-H Frentzen (Ger) 3, 8 J Trulli (Ita) 2 pts, 9 R Zonta (Bra) 1
Constructors: 1 Ferrari 26pts, 2 McLaren-Mercedes 6 & Benetton 6, 4
Williams-BMW & Jordan-Mugen Honda 5, 6 BAR-Honda 4
