Motorsport: Retiring tyre helps take Schumacher-Alonso showdown to the wire

If the most keenly fought F1 title for many years comes down to tyre technology, it makes a nonsense of F1's decision to go with a single tyre supplier next year - Bridgestone - as Michelin bow out of the series.

For it is Michelin's wet-weather superiority that could yet keep Michael Schumacher at bay after his storming victory at Shanghai last week.

The series seems certain to go down to the final stages of the Brazil Grand Prix, the last race after tonight's Japanese GP at Suzuka.

Fernando Alonso's Renault uses Michelin (Schumacher's Ferrari has Bridgestones) and is favoured by many to take the crown because rain is common at the Suzuka and Interlagos tracks.

Using different tyre manufacturers increases the variables in an F1 series criticised by many for being too predictable and prone to being decided by pit stops and similar tactics, not raw motor racing principles like overtaking and speed. Moving to one manufacturer reduces those variables even further.

However, Schumacher's impressive victory at Shanghai showed not only what a driver F1 is losing but also that tactical decisions can still be a win or lose proposition, even when the opposition supposedly has better technology.

Shanghai was decided on the 22nd of the race's 56 laps when Alonso, with a commanding 19s lead over team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella, steered into the pit lane for what appeared nothing more than a routine refuelling stop.

However, his left-front Michelin tyre had been worn almost smooth during the opening stint of the race, and, rather than leave it on the car, it was decided to change both front tyres for fresh intermediates. In normal conditions, Alonso would have had a sufficient cushion to get back into the race and scrub in those new tyres, which usually takes three or four laps.

Instead, on this occasion, the weather and track conditions did not dry out as quickly as expected and it took eight or nine laps before the tyres were up to temperature.

By then, the frustrated Alonso had been elbowed down to third, and Schumacher was closing in relentlessly on Fisichella.

Schumi's 260km/h manoeuvre, up on two wheels, straddling the curb and slamming past Fisichella to take the lead - and the race - was a strong signal that a determined driver can still take advantage in spite of technology.

Schumacher also put Alonso on red alert after lapping nearly two seconds faster than his title rival in final practice in Japan.

He clocked a time of 1m 29.711s, while Alonso was fifth fastest with a best lap 1.34s slower.

The pressure - the pressure of the chase, not tyre pressure - is also really starting to tell. After Schumacher's win in Shanghai, taking him into the lead in the series for the first time (the points are tied but Schumacher has won seven GP compared to Alonso's six), Alonso tore a strip off his Renault team-mates.

They did not want him to win, he said, because of his move to McLaren in 2007 and his second place meant: "The whole team is gutted, apart from the handful of people who don't want me to take the No 1 to McLaren."

Renault made soothing noises after this outburst and, whatever the truth, Alonso is also calling on his French tyre makers to get a grip and give him something extra after Shanghai.

"I built up a good lead in the first 20 laps but my front tyres were badly worn - and the conditions were difficult, as the track was drying very slowly. We made the decision to change the fronts for a new pair and it was the wrong one - as we saw with Fisi [team-mate Fisichella] and Michael, who kept all four tyres on the car and were much quicker.

"After that, the only thing we could do was go to dry tyres as early as possible and hope to catch up the time to Michael. In the end, there were not enough laps left. So it was a bad day but this is a fantastic fight for the championship and I am feeling really confident about Japan. We had the quickest car in Shanghai and we have two more good chances to win. I believe we can do it."

For all that breast-beating, Renault and Michelin genuinely believe they have an edge in the wet.

Bridgestone technical manager Hisao Suganuma is happy with the dry-weather tyre but Bridgestone have quietly been preparing a new wet weather tyre for Suzuka after the evidence of Shanghai.

If rain hits as hard as it did in Japan in 2004 during Super Typhoon Ma'on, and at Interlagos in 2003, Alonso will have an edge because of Michelin, despite Schumacher's reputation as the best wet-weather driver.

Meanwhile, for the first time in a decade, McLaren face a barren season - an embarrassment for a team that won 10 times in 2005, more than any other. Kimi Raikkonen was running a strong second to Alonso in China when his throttle malfunctioned.

- Additional reporting from agencies