Silverstone: Schumacher the master in treacherous conditions

Ferrari driver closes in on his fifth world title as championship rivals lose their way in changeable weather at Silverstone

Michael Schumacher stood upright and, from his position at the top of the rostrum, could almost see his destiny on the horizon.

He may reach it in France, a week on Sunday. More likely, and appropriately, the German will get there a fortnight later, in his homeland.

Schumacher's mastery of spiteful, ever-changing conditions, gave him the rare satisfaction of victory at the British Grand Prix yesterday.

It was only his second success in 11 starts here, which for a driver who now has 60 Formula One wins at a rate of one every 2.86 races, is a measly return. However, these 10 points extended his lead in the world championship to 54 points and, if the placings at Magny-Cours fall his way a record-equalling fifth world title will be secured.

Schumacher was the first to acknowledge the superiority of his Ferrari and, when the rain fell, his Bridgestone tyres. He also gave due credit to Ross Brawn, Ferrari's British technical director, who called his pit-stops perfectly, ran an immaculate team operation and savoured this defeat of the home teams in their own back yard.

Rubens Barrichello underlined Ferrari's excellence. He had to start at the back of the field after his car was left behind on the formation lap because of a technical problem.

He calmly dealt with his redefined challenge, picking off all but his team-mate to claim second place in the race and the championship standings. Juan Pablo Montoya, who started from pole position in his Williams-BMW, provided stoic resistance to both Ferraris yet ultimately succumbed to the inevitable and finished third.

Williams, McLaren-Mercedes and the rest floundered in the trying circumstances, which demanded clear lines of communication, cool heads and a little luck. McLaren's, David Coulthard was the victim of a particularly catastrophic sequence of events, yet was the only British driver to reach the flag, albeit two laps down on Schumacher.

Huge sections of the home crowd, decked in red, were content to acclaim Schumacher, who responded with pumping fists as he crossed the line and that trademark leap on the podium. He said he had not worked out the mathematics of the championship and did not realise he could win it in France. He also played down the prospect of wrapping up the title in record time with six races to spare. What mattered, he maintained, was simply the winning.

"If it happens that I do it quicker than anyone before, then it happens," he said. "This is the kind of thing that I can look back on with satisfaction later. It matters more to have another championship and another race victory.

"I am particularly delighted today because I have not had many occasions to enjoy victory at Silverstone. It was a special race in difficult conditions. It was all or nothing at times. But to get my 60th win and a win that is vital for the championship makes it perfect. I was aware of the fans we had. We always have that kind of reception here, especially for Ferrari, and it was nice to give them the win.

"We have the package, the car, everything, and we have worked to be in this position. So much of this race was down to tyres and Ross did a great job [on those decisions]."

Barrichello's car remained stationary as he tried to select first gear before the start and he had a spin as he endeavoured to make up for lost time. However, he eventually caught Montoya and embellished an already lavish Ferrari spectacle in the rain before resuming his place in Schumacher's slipstream.

The Brazilian said: "When things like that happen at the start you have to be calm, because you know you have the car to do what you need. It is a fantastic result. Juan Pablo and I treat each other with respect and we fight fair."

Montoya, on pole for the last four races, was relieved to have scored points after three consecutive fruitless efforts. He held up Schumacher in the early stages but was helpless when the rain, which surprised Ferrari and most teams, called for a swift adjustment to strategies.

The Colombian said: "I really couldn't do any thing about it in the wet. I was still pushing but it was impossible to stop Michael. The Ferraris just went away. It was good to get points and be on the podium again. We really couldn't hope for anything more.''

Bridgestone tyres served the cause of BAR-Honda, but the team also deployed a helicopter to give them the most accurate of weather forecasts and help them register their first points of the season. Jacques Villeneuve was fourth and Olivier Panis fifth.

David Richards the team principle, explained: "My helicopter pilot was flying up-wind throughout the race, giving us information about the weather and he told us were the window was to change tyres. It goes to prove that perseverance really pays off and this result is all about teamwork."

Elsewhere, teamwork was stretched to and beyond the normal limits yesterday, and even some of the most experienced and successful outfits were found wanting. William's other driver, Ralf Schumacher, never recovered from a lengthy pit stop, when his crew struggled with a fuel rig.

McLaren lost meaningful radio contact with their drivers because they were picking up foreign language commentaries for digital TV companies. Coulthard twice misunderstood instructions concerning pit stops and found himself on the wrong tyres in unforgiving conditions. The odd spin and skirmish completed his imperfect day.

"Everything that could have gone wrong for me did go wrong," the Scotsman said. "It was just a disaster. It's the kind of day you want to forget but I doubt I'll be able to forget this one."

Jenson Button, leading a trio of UK drivers intent on enhancing their job prospects for next season, made up four places with a stirring start, only to be brought to a premature halt by a wheel problem on his Renault.

Eddie Irvine spun out in his Jaguar and the luckless Allan McNish, eagerly anticipating his British Grand Prix debut, could not get away at the start because of a clutch problem.