Schumacher notches another win

Associated Press



7/11/2004

SILVERSTONE, England (AP) - Michael Schumacher of Ferrari swept to his 10th victory in 11 races this season, taking Sunday's British Grand Prix to notch a remarkable 80th career victory.

Schumacher finished 2.1 seconds ahead of McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen and 3.1 ahead of teammate Rubens Barrichello. Englishman Jenson Button was fourth in a BAR-Honda, 10.6 behind the winner.

The German's only non-victory this season came in the Monaco GP, where he crashed with the Williams of Juan Pablo Montoya while they both were breaking and accelerating behind a safety car to warm their tires.

With seven races to go, the six-time series champion Schumacher has 100 points with Barrichello second with 74. Button has 53 points in third with the German Grand Prix next on June 25.

Starting from fourth on the grid, Schumacher built up a 23.3-second lead over Raikkonen - the pole sitter - and pitted after 15 laps. He managed to get out just ahead of Raikkonen and held a narrow 1.3-second lead over the Finn after 16 laps.

Schumacher and Raikkonen both pitted again midway through the race, but the German again kept his lead.

A critical point came after Jarno Trulli of Renault experienced a spectacular crash at the two-thirds mark of the 60-lap race. Trulli walked away from his shattered car after it spun several times and flipped over, eventually landing in a gravel run-off area.

The GP was run behind the safety car until full-out racing resumed after the 45th lap with Schumacher holding a narrow 0.2-second lead over Raikkonen.

The last 15 laps showcased some of the best racing of the season between Schumacher and a pursuer with no pit-stop strategy involved. Again, it was Schumacher who showed his skill, edging away from the Finn to win his third British Grand Prix.

Raikkonen, the runner-up by two points last season to Schumacher in the season standings, scored only one point in the first seven races. But he has been rejuvenated with a new model car since last week's French GP. He qualified first for this race and had the top practice times.