Making it Look Easy
Grand Prix of Germany

By Erik Nielsen
Photos courtesy and copyright Ferrari Media

Michael Schumacher once again made winning a Formula 1 race look as easy as falling out of bed. He led and set the pace of the race, but it appears the other teams are begging to close the performance gap. Jenson Button was less than 10 seconds behind at the end of the race, and had he not been penalized 10 positions at the start of the race for changing an engine, he may have been able to pose more of a challenge.

"Yesterday pole position, today the victory. It was a pretty tough race, especially the beginning when Kimi was putting on the pressure and then Jenson had a fantastic drive, together with Fernando. It was a battle. The gap I had initially I was able to keep but not really extend. In this way, it was a little bit difficult, especially at the beginning as Jenson was staying out pretty long after his first pit stop and it wasn't sure whether they would maybe even be on a two-stop strategy." Even in the press interviews, the multi-world champion talks about winning an F1 race with the ease that a mortal talks about going shopping.

Kimi Raikonnen also seemed to be pushing Schumacher at the middle stage of the race until he suffered a dramatic wing failure on the front straight and crashed in the first turn at almost top speed. With a bit of luck and stricter crash regulations, the Finn walked away from the wreck, unhurt except for his ego. The crash did send the crowd into frenzy.

But at the end of the day, no one could form an effective challenge for the top spot and Schumie won his 11th race in 12 starts. Both championships are effectively over, and now it is only a challenge to see if someone else can win a race.

Fernando Alonso kept David Coulthard at bay and captured the last spot on the podium, but his ride wasn't without drama and the two kept at it for a healthy portion of the race. Montoya started in second place, but had fallen to seventh by the time he reached the first turn. Either the Columbian was asleep at the wheel, or the latest version of the Williams launch control program hasn't been properly sorted. Some of the usual suspects rounded out the points paying slots with Pizzonia finishing in 7th, nailing shut Marc Gene's chance at a ride.

There will be lots of press on this race, mostly with sentences starting "what if" and "if only" and comments about the young Brit and the young Finn. But, the race is over and it was another strong win by Schumacher. Only a breakthrough technical advantage from another team will stop the red machine from racking up more wins, and probably more championships. It's a boring time to watch F1. Unless you're a Ferrari fan that is.

The teams will have extra time to make last minute changes as it's three weeks until the Grand Prix of Hungary.