Sunday October 13th, 2002

By Alan Baldwin

Winning is like a drug and Ferrari's Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher is not about to kick the habit.

After sealing the most successful year in the Italian team's history with his 11th win of the season in Japan, the German looked forward on Sunday to further milestones.

Ignoring those who clamour for change to boost flagging television ratings and inject excitement into a sport stifled by Ferrari success, Schumacher said he would rather be criticised for being dominant than slow.

"It's not the driving that is my motivation," he added after leading Ferrari to a fifth successive one-two finish and straightforward but record-equalling 15th win of the year.

"It's simply the love of the sport that is the drive for what I'm doing and I'm still hungry for more. I don't know when the next generation is coming, who it will be, because I will be around for quite a while."

Sunday allowed fans and statisticians to take stock of what Ferrari's taciturn sporting director Jean Todt, almost selling himself short, described simply as a "dream finale to a dream season."

"We could not ask for more," said the Frenchman, compiling his own short list of the Ferrari's staggering achievements over the past 17 races.

"Fifteen wins, nine one-twos. Michael taking his third consecutive world title with Ferrari after 11 races and Ferrari taking their fourth consecutive Constructors' Championship after 13 races.

"Rubens (Barrichello) took second place in the drivers' classification with one race to go and we have scored 221 points which is the same as all the other teams put together. It's hard to imagine anything better."

Record Collection

Todt would have had to keep speaking for many more minutes to list all the other records.

Since he last failed to finish a race, Michael Schumacher has driven the equivalent of the distance from his birthplace in Germany to New Delhi - 6,709.535 km of competitive laps over 21 Grands Prix since July 2001.

Ferrari have finished 53 races in a row on the podium and Schumacher 19 in succession with 22 races in succession in the points. He is the first driver to finish on the podium in every race for a whole season.

"The results speak for themselves and it is fantastic," he said. "And what has been the most fantastic is that we have not been for one race (off the podium). We have finished all the races and not only that, but all on the podium and that shows the quality of job the mechanics have done.

"I don't believe it's anything to do with luck. It's hard work. Our guys get the car as reliable as they can and what I do in the car on the other side."

Schumacher smashed Argentine Carlos Reutemann 1980-81 record of 16 races in a row in the points in France in July, when he also equalled Juan Manuel Fangio's record of five titles. The same month he claimed a record 108th career podium - a tally since stretched to 114.

On Sunday at Suzuka he beat the late Briton Jim Clark's record of 11 hat-tricks - pole, fastest lap and victory - and took a record 51st fastest lap.

Points Tally

He has won, and started on pole, at every circuit on the calendar and has now gone two steps further than Briton Nigel Mansell, who until this season shared with him the record of nine wins in a season.

"None of us would ever have expected that we would be so successful," Schumacher said. "But that's the way it is. We celebrate it, we know it will be basically impossible to repeat because I'm more than confident that unfortunately our opponents will get stronger so the situation will get tighter naturally."

Schumacher also took his season's points tally to 144, 21 more than his own previous record of 123 set last year, and his number of career victories to an unmatched 64. His total career points haul of 945 is another record.

No Ferrari driver since the first Grand Prix in 1950 comes close to Schumacher's success with the team, his 45 wins under the sign of the prancing horse comparing to three times champion Niki Lauda's meagre haul of 15.

There are sure to be more to come.

Published at 11:30:03 GMT