FORMULA ONE: M. Schumacher zeroes in on Prost's record at Silverstone
Posted By Terry CallahanMotorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
July 13, 2001
SILVERSTONE, Great Britain - Fifty years after Frolian Gonzalez won the first-ever Grand Prix for the Ferrari Formula One team when he drove to victory at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, Michael Schumacher has a chance to add to the marque's history and his history at the same track in this year's British Grand Prix.
A win in Sunday's race, round 11 of 17 in this year's FIA Formula One World Championship, would give Schumacher 51 career victories, tying him with Alain Prost for first place in the all-time winners list. Schumacher has won 10 of the past 14 Grand Prix races, including last year's inaugural SAP United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis. If either Schumacher or his teammate, Rubens Barrichello, wins Sunday, it will also raise Ferrari's Grand Prix victory total to 142.
At the moment, Schumacher said he is not thinking about records. He always has said he will savor those things after he retires.
Prost, who retired at the end of the 1993 season after winning his fourth World Championship, knows that his record of 51 victories will sooner or later fall to Schumacher.
"It's going to happen," Prost said. "He deserves to have this kind of record. I knew he was very much motivated for this kind of record, which is understandable. You cannot win more than 50 races if you're not good, and he is the best at the moment, one of the best of all time, and he deserves to have this record."
One of Schumacher's 50 wins came at the 1998 British Grand Prix.
"There is no doubt that Silverstone is a special place," Schumacher said. "It presents a big challenge with some very interesting corners. I hope we can maintain our current strong form, and I am really looking forward to this race."
Schumacher has 78 points while West McLaren-Mercedes driver David Coulthard is second in the standings with 47. Coulthard won the British Grand Prix in 1999 and 2000. This is his home Grand Prix, as he is a native of Scotland.
"That doesn't really make a difference in terms of me functioning during a Grand Prix weekend," Coulthard said of racing at home, "it just makes it more enjoyable. It's more enjoyable to be at home, and it's more relaxed in many ways."
This is also the home race for eight of the 11 Formula One teams. West McLaren-Mercedes, Williams-BMW, Benson & Hedges Jordan-Honda, Lucky Strike BAR-Honda, Jaguar-Cosworth, Orange Arrows-Asiatech, Mild Seven Benetton-Renault and Minardi-European are all based in England. (Minardi also has a base in Italy.) Most of their factories are in the Silverstone area, which is known as Formula One's Silicon Valley.
The Jordan team's factory is located literally across the road from the main entrance to the Silverstone circuit. Team owner Eddie Jordan of Ireland jokes that his telephone never stops ringing as the date for the British Grand Prix approaches.
"I seem to have more relations than I ever knew I had before," Jordan said, "and they all want tickets for this place. So the closer we get to Silverstone, the telephone calls increase and increase. That is a measure of where the team is, and that is very heartening too to know that you have a lot of fans."
Text provided by Paul Kelly
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