Michael Says F-1 Title Chances Slipping But Too Soon to Give Up

May 9, 2005; Alex Duff writing for Bloomberg reported that Michael Schumacher, Ferrari's record Formula One champion, said his chances of a sixth straight title are slipping after yesterday's Spanish Grand Prix, the third in five races this season he failed to complete.

McLaren-Mercedes' Kimi Raikkonen won in Barcelona, while Renault's Fernando Alonso finished second to boost his championship lead to 18 points over Toyota's Jarno Trulli, who was third yesterday. Schumacher, winner of a record seven championships, is 34 points behind Alonso with 14 races left.

The championship ``is moving more and more away,'' Schumacher told reporters after dropping into a tie for seventh in the standings. ``But it is not that far away that we have to give it up.''

The 36-year-old German struggled to drive his stricken Ferrari into the team garage with 19 laps left after punctures in successive laps at the Circuit de Catalunya. He has 10 points -- 40 fewer than at the same stage last season, when he won the first five events.

Online betting exchange Betfair rates Schumacher the third- favorite for the title. Raikkonen, 25, rose to third place on 17 points and is rated the second favorite. The 23-year-old Alonso, seeking to become Formula One's youngest champion, is the odds-on favorite.

`Opponents Stronger'

This season, Schumacher's Ferrari exited two races for technical reasons, his first such retirements in almost four years, and collided with Nick Heidfeld's BMW-Williams in the other event he didn't finish. Schumacher and teammate Rubens Barrichello have two top-three finishes between them so far.

``We have to accept that in this first part of the season our opponents are stronger than us,'' Ferrari team manger Jean Todt said after yesterday's race. ``We will not get discouraged and we will absolutely not give up.''

Schumacher, having risen to third place from eighth yesterday, stopped for a replacement after one of his Bridgestone Corp. tires burst on lap 45. A lap later, another tire punctured, forcing him into a gravel trap. Sticking on the inside of the racetrack, he nursed the car around the rest of the lap into the team garage.

Both burst tires were on the left side of the car and may have been pierced by crash debris.

``I don't know exactly what happened'' to the rubber, added Schumacher, who said last month he hasn't ruled out extending his Ferrari contract an extra year through 2007. ``I was not aware of picking up debris on the track but maybe I did.''

`Acceptable'

Hisao Suganuma, technical manager at Bridgestone Motorsport, said the team started an investigation and that the wear on Schumacher's rear tires was ``within acceptable boundaries.''

Raikkonen beat Alonso by 27.7 seconds for the third victory of his career and first since August.

``I could have gone much quicker at the end if I wanted but there was no need,'' Raikkonen told a news conference. ``I'm very happy. Finally, we have the result we wanted.''

Raikkonen, who ended Alonso's run of three straight wins and Renault's four-race streak, built a 20-second lead during the first third of the 66-lap race as Alonso was hampered by a rear tire problem. Cheered on by a sellout crowd of 115,000, Alonso improved his pace in the second half of the race but couldn't get near Raikkonen.

``I'm totally confident that the gap won't be the same at the next race'' at Monaco on May 22, Alonso said. ``The crowd was hoping for a win for sure but on the last lap I could see they were still happy.''

Renault, seeking its first title, leads the constructors' championship with 58 points, 18 more than Toyota and 21 more than McLaren. Ferrari, winner of the past six team titles, is fifth with 18.

``We shall regroup and hope to go forward,'' said Ross Brawn, Ferrari's technical director, in an e-mailed statement.