It's Schumacher and Ferrari all the way in Belgium

Schumacher on the softer Bridgestones will be hoping to get a good start from pole position and keep it clean around the tight La Source corner. Barrichello has opted for the harder tyre which may prove to be a wise move from the Brazilian and he will be keen to make a good start from the clean side of the grid and gain a place or two in the opening lap. 44 laps of the Spa track await and although the teams are not predicting rain you can never tell what the weather will do here.

The start was good for both Michael and Rubens, Barrichello jumps ahead of Raikkonen who was seen to be using some very scrubbed tyres to take the second place going into turn 1 while Michael was already on his way keeping his lead of the race. Thankfully no incidents at La Source and all 20 cars made it round cleanly as the Ferrari’s instantly began to pull away. By lap 10 Schumacher has blitzed the track with constant lap records to have about a 8 second lead over Barrichello and nearly 20 seconds ahead of third placed Montoya who benefited from a mistake by Raikkonen to move ahead of the McLaren driver. David Coulthard and R Schumacher make up the top six.

Schumacher is the first of the front runners to pit after 15 laps, and an 8.6 seconds stop has the world champion back on his way in second place handing the race lead to Rubens Barrichello. But his lead was not to last long as the Brazilian also pits. 10.2 seconds however for Barrichello and he rejoins back on the track in fifth place. Ralf Schumacher is also in after a spin on the circuit. As the rest of the front runners pit Barrichello is soon back into second place, the biggest mover in the first round of stops is Coulthard who has moved into fourth and is now chasing Montoya.

Half distance and Michael is simply dominating the race as he pulls out 18 seconds of a lead over Barrichello and some 40 seconds ahead of Montoya in third place. The softer tyres appear to be holding out well in racing trim and Michael’s decision looks to be firmly correct. So far no sign of any rain coming to interfere with the running of today’s race, which is strangely lack lustre for a Belgian Grand Prix.

15 laps to go and Schumacher is lapping the backmarkers as the Ferrari mechanics are out in the pit lane once more as the second round of stoops loom. And in comes the race leader with a very healthy lead so no rush in the pit stop. 8.8 seconds and he is back on his way once again in second place as Barrichello goes into the lead of the race but only just such was the lead Michael had prior to his stop. Rubens however is in the next lap for his second stop and was stationery for 9.1 seconds and he rejoins the track in clear space in a lonely second place.

The remaining laps were reeled off without problems for Schumacher and Barrichello. Michael dropping his pace quite a lot to bring the car home as the closing stages sees a lot of retirements. Raikkonen, De la Rosa, Massa and Fisichella among those going out of the race in the closing laps. And Schumacher takes the chequered flag ahead of Barrichello to take a awesome win with a stunning display of his racing pace.

So a truly magnificent weekend in Belgium for Ferrari. Michael Schumacher wins his tenth race of the season, setting a new record in the process. Ferrari take their 50th podium in a row. It also marks Shell’s 100th win with the Ferrari team. And off course it is another 16 points for the team as they aim to smash the 200 points barrier. And Rubens Barrichello has gained more points on his rivals in the race for second place. A 1-2 in dominant fashion as we have seen so often and a crushing defeat on our rivals once more. There really is nothing to challenge Ferrari and the F2002.

A perfect weekend for Michael Schumacher on his favourite track, leading from pole to flag and setting the fastest lap and a new track record in the process. Rubens Barrichello simply had no answer to the Schumacher pace this afternoon but will be more than happy to cement his position in the driver’s title.

Full Times

1 M. Schumacher Germany Ferrari 1.21.20.634
2 R. Barrichello Brazil Ferrari +1.977
3 J.P. Montoya Colombia Williams +18.445
4 D. Coulthard Scotland McLaren +19.357
5 R. Schumacher Germany Williams +56.440
6 E. Irvine Northern Ireland Jaguar +1.17.370
7 M. Salo Finland Toyota +1.17.809
8 J. Villeneuve Canada BAR +1.19.855
9 A. McNish Scotland Toyota +1
10 N. Heidfeld Germany Sauber +1
11 T. Sato Japan Jordan +1
12 O. Panis France BAR +4
Did not finish
13 G. Fisichella Italy Jordan +5
14 P. De la Rosa Spain Jaguar +6
15 F. Massa Brazil Sauber +6
16 K. Räikkönen Finland McLaren +9
17 J. Trulli Italy Renault +9
18 A. Davidson England Minardi +26
19 J. Button England Renault +34
20 M. Webber Australia Minardi +40