FORMULA 1: M. Schumacher takes aim at history in Belgium
Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
August 31, 2001FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium - A win in the Belgian Grand Prix on Sept. 2 would add yet another impressive statistic to the legend of Michael Schumacher.
Two weeks ago, Schumacher clinched his fourth FIA Formula One World Championship with a victory in the Hungarian Grand Prix. That was his 51st Grand Prix victory, which tied him with Alain Prost's all-time win record. A win on Sunday would make Schumacher the winningest driver in the history of Formula One.
Schumacher has a special bond with the Spa circuit. He made his F1 debut with Jordan-Ford in the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa. One year later, he scored his first Grand Prix victory when he won at Spa driving a Benetton-Ford. He also won at Spa in 1995, 1996 and 1997. This year's race will mark Schumacher's 159th Grand Prix start.
"Coming to Spa as World Champion is without a doubt very special for both me and our team," he said. "As I have said very often, I just love to race at Spa. This circuit is by far my most favorite one.
"Some people have asked me if I wouldn't have preferred to finish the championship in Spa, where I had my debut in F1, where I had my first victory and where I have a lot of German fans to support me, as it is not too far away from where I was born. But I think arriving here with the title in the pocket is a good idea. I am really looking forward to racing at this circuit with this kind of relieved feeling after winning the championship."
Schumacher already has set other records this year. He has set a total of 43 fastest race laps in his career, which is two more than Prost, who is second in the record books with 41. And Schumacher has now led more laps than any other driver.
While Schumacher has won at Spa four times, the West McLaren-Mercedes team has been victorious in the past two years with David Coulthard winning in 1999 and Mika Hakkinen in 2000 after a breathtaking overtaking maneuver on Schumacher.
In all, the McLaren team has won the Belgian Grand Prix 10 times, including the 1968 event when team founder Bruce McLaren won the first ever Grand Prix for the team.
"With the perfect mixture of fast straights, corners and tricky hairpins, Spa is one of the greatest circuits in the world and offers numerous overtaking opportunities," Coulthard said. "There is no doubt it is my favorite track, and I'm really looking forward to the weekend. The championship might be over, but I still want to achieve the best result possible for the team and myself."
While M. Schumacher and Ferrari have clinched this year's Drivers Championship and Constructor's Championship, but there is still a close battle for second place in the Drivers Championship between Coulthard, Rubens Barrichello and Ralf Schumacher. And Williams-BMW can still snatch second place from McLaren-Mercedes in the Constructors Championship.
Like Schumacher, who has vowed to keep fighting for more victories, the other drivers have one objective in the final four races of the season: winning.
"First place has been taken already," Barrichello said. "I think the next best is second, so I'm giving my best. I have four races to win." Coulthard said he is still motivated to win.
"The championship is the result of the job you do in your individual races during the course of the year," Coulthard said. "If I do the second-best job this year, then I finish second. If I don't, then I won't, but it doesn't change the motivation, which is to win."
The Formula One season now heads into three races on three of the most historic tracks in motor racing. Home of the Belgian Grand Prix, the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps played host to its first race in 1922 and its first Grand Prix in 1925. F1 left Spa after the 1970 race and returned in 1983 to a still daunting circuit that had been shortened for safety reasons and modified in 1979.
The Italian Grand Prix at Monza is next on the schedule. Built in 1922 on the outskirts of Milan, the Monza circuit has been changed over the years but still retains its historical aura. Then it's on to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the SAP United States Grand Prix on Sept. 30. While this will only be the second race on the Speedway's new F1 circuit, the Indianapolis oval dates back to 1909, and the road circuit incorporates part of the historic oval.
Text provided by Paul Kelly
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