Motor Racing: A Title But No Cigar for Schumacher

Michael Schumacher's reflective mood after last Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix was that of someone who had found a pound but lost a tenner. Securing a seventh championship seemed to have as much meaning as another million floating into Bernie Ecclestone's coffers. If it's the doing of the deal that matters to Ecclestone, then it was no surprise that Schumacher should have the look of someone who had been mugged on his way to the bank.

By finishing second at Spa-Francorchamps, Schumacher had scored enough points to push the statistical boundaries almost beyond reach. But, when the justifiable eulogies had finished, it raised questions about how much is too much. Winning six titles last year to beat Fangio's record was a major story. But number seven? It was as if Schumacher had merely beaten himself.

In fact, on this particular day in Ardennes, Schumacher and Ferrari had been defeated by Kimi Raikkonen and McLaren-Mercedes. It had been a hugely dramatic race and the inescapable story was that the champions had been beaten; a supreme irony when they had achieved so much on paper, if not on the race track.

The mood of the man himself reflected it. Yes, we had the clenched fist at the finish and the smiles and gestures from the rostrum as Schumacher looked down on his team and indicated that this was also for them. But there was none of the ecstasy that usually erupts from a driver who loves winning.

That was the point, of course. He hadn't won on 29 August. And it hurt. Not a lot. But it hurt. When you have stood on the top of the podium for all but one of the previous 13 races, there must be a sense of anti-climax when someone else is occupying 'your' spot. Schumacher more or less admitted as much afterwards.

'We are here in Spa, which does mean a lot to me,' said Schumacher. 'The circuit, the place, and to clinch the seventh title at the 700th Grand Prix for Ferrari is very special. I'm very proud to have achieved this with this team, which is an extraordinary one. Rubens [Barrichello] came through to finish third, so it's a great day for all of us.

'I would honestly rather finish the championship with a victory - but today we sim ply weren't strong enough at the right moments. We have won so many races this year it was clear that at some stage somebody else would win.'

That 'somebody' was sitting between the two Ferrari drivers, Raikkonen's silvery overalls contrasting with the lurid red on either side. This was the first win for McLaren since March 2003 and it had been achieved thanks to a Schumacher-like display of speed and tenacity.

Anyone who thinks Schumacher was happy to cruise home second and collect the title does not understand the man. Schumacher is still niggled about the failure to win in Monaco when he messed up his restart preparations behind the safety car and had Juan Pablo Montoya inadvertently hit the back of his car. He would have taken that hunger with him to the start at Spa. Seven world championships? Eight? Nine? What does it mean? Not a great deal during that brief post-race period when you realise you have just been beaten.

Not that such fine detail will curtail the celebrations at Monza next weekend when the home crowd turn out to greet what amounts to the national team. Schumacher proved that he had put the events in Spa behind him last Wednesday when he was considerably quicker than anyone else during the first day of testing for the Italian Grand Prix. But his resolve was thoroughly tested on Thursday when a puncture pitched him - without injury - off the road at more than 180mph.

Nothing less than a win will do on Sunday but, with McLaren getting into their stride, that is far from certain. It is victory in the next race - and the one after that - that matters to Schumacher. Championships? Like Bernie's bank balance, they merely keep the score.