Motorsport: Schumacher a champion even in defeat

And so it is over. Fernando Alonso is still world champion, and heads into his future as the man everyone will have to beat.

Michael Schumacher, seeking victory in his 249th and final race that would have brought his score equal to the combined tallies of those other greats, Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna, was felled early by a puncture.

If it was a day on which to feel sorry for the seven-times champion, spare a thought too for his teammate Felipe Massa, who became the first Brazilian to win his home race since Senna in 1993. It was the race of the 25-year-old's life, but all eyes were on two of the men he was so conclusively beating.

Despite all the tension there was time for pageantry, heightened of course by the imminent retirement of the greatest current contestant.

There was a nice touch as Schumacher and Alonso, like a pair of boxers touching gloves before the bell, shook hands for the cameras.

Schumacher waved a Brazilian flag, eliciting roars from a crowd that, in truth, was only interested in victory for his teammate on pole position.

Just before the start, football legend Pele presented Schumacher with a special trophy, having earlier described the German as "the Pele of motor racing". All the while the track temperature was rising, leaving Ferrari and Bridgestone rubbing their hands and Renault and Michelin praying for clouds.

The first corner was the most crucial for Alonso, as it presented the highest risk of the damage that could eliminate him and prevent him from scoring the single point he needed.

But Schumacher had the tougher passage round the first lap as he ran wheel-to-wheel with the BMWs of Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld until the safety car was deployed after Nico Rosberg ran into the back of his Williams teammate Mark Webber.

The German then unfathomably, given that his car was already damaged, pushed so hard that he crashed heavily at the end of the lap.

Massa had taken the lead from Kimi Raikkonen and Jarno Trulli, with Alonso safely fourth from teammate Giancarlo Fisichella. Schumacher, his Ferrari's fuel system completely rebuilt after his fuel feed drama in qualifying, was already sixth, challenging the Italian.

Then, just after racing had resumed on the seventh lap and he had overtaken Fisichella, Schumacher's new jinx struck yet again as he crawled to the pits on lap nine with his left-rear Bridgestone tyre in shreds.

As Massa led easily from Raikkonen, and Alonso stroked along in third place with Fisichella riding shotgun, Schumacher fell to 17th place. Ten laps into the 71-lap race, and the excitement had fizzled out. For Schumacher the game was now well and truly over regardless of what happened to Alonso, the win he needed now just a dream.

Nevertheless, he drove a champion's race, setting a string of fastest laps as he clawed his way back to eighth place after 40 laps, but a bit of a wobble on that lap made hearts jump again in the Ferrari pit. And he kept climbing, passing Barrichello for sixth place on the 51st lap.

This was a bittersweet race for the team, for up front Massa was doing a peerless job, 25 seconds clear of a great battle between Alonso and Jenson Button for second place, with Raikkonen still within striking distance and Barrichello likewise monstering Fisichella for fifth, not too far back until Schumacher caught them.

Eventually he grabbed fifth after forcing Fisichella into a mistake on lap 63. He then snatched fourth from Raikkonen, the man who will replace him at Ferrari, on the 69th lap.

And as long as the two Renaults kept going around Ferrari had zero chance of winning the consolation prize of the constructors' championship. Some days you eat the bear, some days the bear eats you; in Brazil the bear obviously preferred the taste of red. In the end the final points were Renault 206, Ferrari 201.

And so, those who will vie for his mantle headed the field, Schumacher came home an honourable fourth, his final race a trying affair that brought a fabulous career to a frustrating conclusion.

RECORDS

Titles: Seven (1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004)

Longest reign as champion: Four years 11 months 17 days (Oct 8, 2000 to Sept 25, 2005)

Most wins: 91

Most pole positions: 68

Most wins in a single season: 13 (2004)

Most points: 1369 (includes 78 from 1997 when he was excluded from the final standings after a collision with Canadian Jacques Villeneuve in the title deciding race)

Most points in a single season: 148 (2004)

Most successive seasons with a win: 15

Most podiums: 154

Most wins at the same grand prix: eight (France)

- INDEPENDENT