FORMULA ONE: Schumacher aims to extend win streak at Brazil

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

April 1, 2001

SAO PAULO, Brazil - A victory in Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix would extend Michael Schumacher’s win streak to seven. The streak started with Schumacher’s win in last year’s Italian Grand Prix. If it continues, he will close in on the record set by Alberto Ascari, who won nine consecutive races over the 1952 and 1953 World Championship seasons. With six consecutive wins, Schumacher is second in the record books. Three drivers are tied for third place in the record books with five consecutive wins each: Jack Brabham, with five straight wins in 1960; Jim Clark, with five straight wins in 1965; and Nigel Mansell, with five straight wins in 1992.

But Schumacher knows that his streak must end sooner or later. “I am lucky for the moment,” he said, “but one moment my luck will stop, as well.”

Besides luck, he also says that Ferrari has the best car at the moment. “We are working very hard, and without doubt we have the best car in the pit,” he said. “We have the best engine or very close to the best engine. All in all, we have the best package. Rubens (Barrichello) and myself do a decent job, as well.”

Schumacher has another streak going, as well. In the nine times he has raced in the Brazilian Grand Prix, Schumacher always has finished in the top six, and he has won here in 1994, 1995 and 2000.

Still, Schumacher does not believe that Ferrari has a big advantage over the other top Formula One teams.

“Let’s wait for this weekend and see what really happens,” he said. Mika Hakkinen and the rest of the West McLaren-Mercedes team hope to end Schumacher’s win streak.

“We always enter a race weekend with the intention of winning,” Hakkinen said, “and this is the key target for Brazil. The West McLaren-Mercedes team and myself are working as hard as possible to secure the desired result.”

The Brazilian Grand Prix takes place at the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace, and the circuit is also called Interlagos as it is in the Sao Paulo suburb of Interlagos. The 2.677-mile, 4.309-km circuit is one of the most physically demanding tracks on the schedule. Not only is it bumpy, but it also runs in an anti-clockwise direction while most F1 tracks run in a clockwise direction. This puts extra strain on the drivers’ necks.

“You have a lot of left hand corners with high G force here,” M. Schumacher said, “and that is a particular thing which you have to prepare for with a lot of exercise.”

Rain could very well play a part in the outcome of the Brazilian Grand Prix. It has rained virtually every afternoon in the days leading up to the weekend.

Text provided by Paul Kelly

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