World champion Fernando Alonso takes an important ten-point lead in the drivers’ championship with a race victory in Suzuka, as Michael Schumacher’s dream of winning his eighth title ends with a trail of smoke from his broken Ferrari.

The Spaniard was surprised to see the leading Ferrari suffer a rare failure due to the impression of the Italian cars having bullet proof reliability. Michael Schumacher was understandably disappointed as he was leading the race at that point and was on form to score an impressive seventh Suzuka victory and probably his eighth drivers’ championship until that moment in the Degner curve on lap 37…

Alonso took the lead after Schumacher’s retirement and went onto win his seventh Grand Prix of the year. His first since the Canadian Grand Prix back in June… and don’t forget the Spaniard had a 25-point lead when he won at Montreal.

Schumacher’s retirement has provided a twist to this epic and exciting championship. After winning in China, it looked like Ferrari and Michael had the momentum to win both titles (drivers’ and constructors’). The performance of the Ferrari 248 during qualifying was breathtaking as the Bridgestone tyres had an advantage over the Michelins. But in the race, many were expected the Ferraris to disappear into the distance with their superior pace, but it didn’t happen.

The Spaniard, who started the race in fifth, was charging and he wasn’t going to give up his chances by driving beautifully in the Renault R26. He passed the first Toyota of Jarno Trulli on the first lap, and then set about passing the other Toyota of Ralf Schumacher.

At the front, Felipe Massa led his team-mate Michael Schumacher. The Brazilian allowed Michael through to take first position at the end of lap 2. This became the perfect opportunity for the German to disappear into the distance and thereby mark his authority on the title battle.

But it didn’t happen like that at all. The two scarlet cars were lapping at a slower pace than in qualifying with Ralf Schumacher and Alonso closely behind.

When the world champion went down the inside of the Toyota at the first corner on lap 12, that allow Alonso to quickly catch up the two Ferraris after being held up behind the slower car.

Felipe Massa was forced to pit three laps earlier than planned – on lap 13 – after suffering a puncture with his Bridgestone. Now Alonso was in second position and for the first time all weekend, was travelling faster than Schumacher.

When Massa rejoined the race, he was behind the slower BMW Sauber of Nick Heidfeld. This compromised his pace, which gave the opportunity for Alonso to pass the Brazilian after his own pit stop on lap 15.

Michael Schumacher continued for another three laps, before he too had to change tyres and take on some fuel. He exited the pits ahead of his main championship rival with a five second advantage.

Now it became a battle for the race lead between the two greatest drivers of the modern era. It was fascinating to see Michael and Fernando setting fastest laps and split times. The pair was evenly matched but the gap remained around five seconds.

As the second round of pitstop approach, Schumacher gained an extra second after lapping a field of Red Bulls back markers and looked on course to take his eighth win of the year.

They pitted on consecutive laps but the order remained the same – Schumacher first with Alonso second. The Spaniard had a done a fine job despite starting fifth on the grid and would be happy to settle for second. But then came that moment for Michael…

Schumacher’s engine failure had transformed the outcome of the race and indeed the world championship. If the German finished in first with his main rival in second, we would have a fantastic prospect of a season-finale in Brazil with two points separating the two champions… But his Ferrari engine let go in spectacular fashion – his first in over six years(!) – and now he faces an extremely difficult challenge in Brazil in two weeks time.

Fernando Alonso takes the win in Suzuka’s final race after 20 years on the Formula One calendar with Ferrari’s Felipe Massa second and Renault’s Giancarlo Fisichella in third.

Honda’s Jenson Button drove a solid race to finish in fourth ahead of Kimi Raikkonen in the McLaren. The Finn did a superb job in the 53-lap race to finish in P5 after qualifying outside the top ten. The two Toyotas of Jarno Trulli and Ralf Schumacher lacked pace and finished sixth and seventh respectively with BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld taking the final point in eighth.

So an exciting and dramatic race, let’s hear what Alonso and Schumacher has to say after the 2006 Japanese Grand Prix.

World champion Fernando Alonso admitted he wasn’t expecting to win the Japanese Grand Prix, but the Spaniard claimed it was a deserved victory.

“At the beginning of the race I knew that we were not in good shape but we were competitive, as good as Ferrari,” said Alonso. “I took the risk to overtake Jarno (Trulli) because I knew there was one opportunity, and when I saw Ralf (Schumacher) had some problems with the car, I tried to get past him.

“The car’s performance was really consistent and really well balanced and after Michael’s problems the race became easy for us.

“The second stint with Michael the gap was more or less the same, 5.9, six seconds depending on traffic. And I was thinking it was possible to win the race, why not? We were only halfway through the race and five seconds behind, which was a surprise.

“I had so many problems in the last races. I lost a race in Hungary, I lost an engine in Monza so for sure I had to recover some lucky moment. I didn’t believe what a I was seeing, also to see a mechanical problem from a Ferrari car is not something it happens often, so it was the second surprise, the biggest surprise for me.”

And as for Michael Schumacher, he feels that the championship is now over and may have to concede the title to his main Spanish rival.

“The drivers’ title for me is finished, but we go to Brazil to win the constructors’,” Schumacher said at Suzuka after the race.

“Our team is great: the boys are the best I know. I’m very satisfied with all our mechanics and engineers in Ferrari. That’s racing. You win and lose together.

“Today we all tried hard, we were first but lost the engine. That’s Formula One. I’m not very disappointed. Life and racing is like this.

“We must be very proud of the work we’ve done, because in Canada we were 25 points behind, and neither you or others thought we’d come back, but we did. Now we are here, nine points behind in the constructors’.”

He might have a slim outside chance in Interlagos, if Fernando fails to finish and Michael takes the win. But the German prefers to concentrate on winning the constructors’ championship (now nine points behind Renault) in Brazil.

“First of all we’ll fight for the constructors’ title in Brazil. We’ll see what happens with the drivers’, but we’re ten points behind.

“I don’t want to think of a race I must win with the other not finishing. I don’t like that.”

So after a sensational Grand Prix, we now head to Brazil in two weeks time (October 22nd) for the season finale. Fernando Alonso will win his second consecutive drivers’ title if he finishes in the points (any where from first to eighth). As for Michael Schumacher, the best he can do is take the race win and pray that his main rival suffers a retirement.

Roll on Brazil!

This is it. After sixteen rounds of this year’s FIA Formula One World Championship, the two greatest drivers of the modern era – Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher – are now tied on points as we head into the final two races in this long season.

Both drivers are now level with 116 points apiece after Schumacher’s latest victory in China and the Ferrari team are currently on form after a series of race wins.

As for Renault and Alonso, they are determined to readdress the issue to claim the drivers’ and constructors’ title after a year long battle with the Italian manufacturer. At one point, the French team were leading by 25 points as Alonso was heading towards his second successive drivers’ crown.

But then came the setback in the second part of the season, in particular the ban on the mass damper system that affected the performance of the Renault R26. It seems the advantage has been shifted to the package of the Ferrari 248 chassis, Michael Schumacher and the Bridgestone tyres.

Renault are still leading the constructors’ championship, but by a small margin of a single point (179 to 178). A one-two finish in Suzuka will secure the manufacturers’ title for Flavio Briatore’s team. But everyone’s attention is on the drivers.

If Michael wins the race in Japan and Fernando fails to finish in the top eight or retires, then the drivers’ title will go to the German. This will be a fantastic achievement by the retiring champion after 15 years in Formula One.

Tyres will play a crucial role in the final two races with Bridgestone focusing on winning on their home track at Suzuka against tyre rival Michelin, who will leave the sport in Brazil in two weeks time.

So who will win the ultimate prize in Formula One? To be honest, I like to see Michael and Fernando to triumph, as both have driven superbly all year. But there can only be one winner. Let battle commence!

Ferrari’s Michael Schumacher takes the lead of the World Championship with his 91st career victory in the Chinese Grand Prix. The German is now level with his main championship rival, Fernando Alonso, with 116 points apiece.

This should have been Alonso’s race as he had the fastest car in the wet-dry conditions. At one point, the Spaniard was ahead of Michael as much as 25 seconds in the wet conditions earlier in the race. But during the first pit stop, Alonso had to change his front intermediates tyres, due to excessive wear on the left-front Michelin. The Renault team didn’t change the rear Michelins at all.

This was a bad mistake, as Alonso was now struggling with his combination of old tyres on the rear and new Michelins at the front. The Spaniard was now lapping the circuit three seconds slower than his previous pace… And his huge lead earlier on has evaporated.

Schumacher, who started the race in sixth, sensed the opportunity and was now directly behind the two Renaults of Alonso and Giancarlo Fisichella. The Italian tried to hold up the fastest Ferrari by protecting his struggling team-mate as much as he could. But in the end, Giancarlo had to take the lead as a way of preventing Ferrari and Michael scoring maximum points.

Alonso simply didn’t have any grip in his Renault R26 at this point and on lap 31, Michael overtook his main rival at turn 2 to take second place.

Renault called in the Spaniard for a much-needed pit stop but then suffered a further delay when changing the intermediates to groove (slick) Michelins. The right-rear wheel had cross-threaded and this cost the driver 11 seconds. Alonso had now dropped down to sixth and was now nearly 50 seconds behind the leading pair of Giancarlo and Michael…

At this stage of the Grand Prix, the track developed a dry line and the cars running on groove slick tyres were now setting fastest laptimes then the cars still on intermediates. Alonso who had changed his worn-out Michelin was now driving his R26 at an incredible pace. Determined to reduce the gap between himself and Michael.

Michael Schumacher was now in the lead of the Grand Prix after pitting one lap earlier than Giancarlo. Michael gained the track position when Giancarlo went off line at turn 1 after switching from intermediates to grooves. Michael even put two wheels on the grass as the Italian tried to hold onto his position after exiting the pits… But it was too late as Michael took the lead on lap 42 and went on to win the race.

Alonso reduced the gap in those last few laps to finished 3.1 seconds behind his main rival. The Spaniard must be disappointed as he had the fastest car on the day – in any conditions – and he should have won the race without any problems. But the end result was that Michael Schumacher won and this means the two main rivals are now tie with 116 points as we head to the last two races of the season.

Giancarlo Fisichella finished in third behind his team-mate, but Renault must be feeling frustrated by this result. After dominating qualifying, a one-two finish would have been the perfect opportunity to claim back the drivers’ and constructors’ championship. Even Renault’s Director of Engineering, Pat Symonds, said it was “no excuses” not to win the Chinese Grand Prix.

“We are making no excuses today,” said Symonds. “This is a race we should have won, because the Renault and its Michelin tyres were dominant in all conditions.

“The fact we did not do so is intensely frustrating for the entire team.”

I have to agree. Renault had the fastest car in the dry and wet conditions but still managed to get beaten by Michael and Ferrari. As a small consolidation, the French manufacturer is now ahead of the Italian team by one point in the Constructors’ standings (179 points to 178 points).

Despite the setback, Alonso remains confident for the following race, the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, in a week’s time (October 8th).

“So it was a bad day, but this is a fantastic fight for the championship, and I go to Japan feeling really confident,” he said.

“We had the quickest car today, and we have two more good chances to win.

“I believe we can do it.

“In wet conditions we were much quicker and in dry also as well because of our times on Friday. But I am confident for the last two races,” he added.

“It doesn’t matter which feeling you have inside, the winner is Michael and he deserved the victory because he came in front of the other drivers.”

As for Michael, he can’t believe his luck after being disadvantage in the wet conditions in the earlier stages of the race. As the track dried out, the German hauled himself into contention and then capitalised on a tactical miscue and a botched pit stop for his arch-rival to score his 91st career win.

“I am so happy!” exclaimed the 37-year-old, who is aiming for an eighth world title before he retires from the sport at the end of the season.

“After the start, I was surprised to find that I could match the pace of those ahead of me, which was better than I had expected.

“After a while, I was able to close up on [Giancarlo] Fisichella.

“I thought that if I could pass him, even if I could not win, then at least I would only lose two points to Fernando and given where I started that would have been a good result.”

Michael’s fifth win in seven races has significantly reduced the championship lead to Alonso, when at one stage it was a gap of 25 points…

And with seven wins to his name compared to Alonso’s six. It is the German who has the upper hand with two races remaining.

“Looking back some while ago, it is quite a miracle that we are there,” Schumacher said of his comeback.

“But thanks to great work from everybody we managed it and we go to the last two races [with a strong chance of winning the title].

“Now we go to Suzuka, a track that I love.

“But it is difficult to make any predictions and as usual, tyre performance will be crucial.”

Indeed it will be, the Suzuka track is also the home race of Bridgestone. Can the Japanese tyre manufacturer provide a good compound for the potential 2006 champion in a week’s time?

Can Renault fight back? It has to if Alonso and the team want to win this year’s championship. No more excuses and mistakes. Let the battle commence!