Schumacher's Wild Ride is a Warning From History

Fernando Alonso faces a delicate balancing act as he seeks his second world championship in tomorrow's Brazilian grand prix. He has vowed to race quickly enough for a victory but, like a football team which only needs a draw, in the back of his mind will be the thought that he simply needs to stay out of trouble and finish in the points to retain his crown.

Running hard and fast is the best way for a driver to compete, because the adrenalin keeps him alert and minimises the danger of a silly mistake when concentration unexpectedly lapses. But this is easier said than done when so little is required. Alonso's team-mate, Giancarlo Fisichella, confirmed that he too would be running as fast as possible to help clinch Renault another constructors' title.

"I go into this race with the aim of doing everything to win," said the Italian. "You cannot drive with the idea that only points are good enough, you have to attack, be aggressive and aim for the top of the podium. It is too early to make any accurate predictions about our performance until qualifying, but we know that the R26 is competitive after our performance at Suzuka. But my objective will be to fight at the front of the field and score maximum points for myself and the team."

Alonso will seek to avoid a repetition of Michael Schumacher's performance in the 2003 Japanese grand prix when, similarly needing one point to win the title, he squeezed home in eighth place.

After qualifying well down after a rain shower, Schumacher tried to do just enough to get back into championship contention. As a result he drove tentatively, almost nervously, as he edged back through the field and made a succession of mistakes. Only six laps into the race Schumacher was up to 10th and challenging Takuma Sato's BAR-Honda, under braking for the pits chicane. Schumacher judged there was a gap and went for it, but the Japanese driver stuck to his line, with the result that the Ferrari's nose wing was shredded in the inevitable impact.

Schumacher drove straight into the pits for repairs which saw his car stationary for 18.3sec, after which he rejoined last, 59.8sec off the lead. Schumacher blamed Sato for the collision. "In formula one, you accept that if somebody leaves the door open like he did you are allowed to go through," he said. "But obviously Sato saw it differently and decided at the last moment to slam the door shut on me. It was hard to avoid him and I lost my nose."

Sato responded: "It was not the right distance for Michael to overtake me perfectly, so I just took my usual line."

Later in the race Schumacher and his brother Ralf, in a Williams, were running in 10th and 11th places. After their next round of refuelling stops they would find themselves chasing Christiano da Matta's Toyota, but as Michael made to pass the Brazilian under braking for the chicane at the end of lap 41, he locked up his Ferrari and almost skidded into the back of the Japanese car.

A few yards behind, Ralf also locked up, and skidded into the back of the Ferrari. One of the Williams's front wing end plates touched the Ferrari's left rear tyre, but Michael continued unscathed while Ralf drove into the pits for a new nose section to be fitted.

The elder Schumacher finished eighth, and won a record sixth championship. Alonso will be hoping to carry off his second title with more aplomb, and considerably more consistency.