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Last Updated: Monday, 10 May, 2004, 15:30 GMT 16:30 UK
Schumacher set to copy Arsenal

By Jonathan Legard
BBC motor racing correspondent

Bernie Ecclestone thinks it would be "fantastic" if Michael Schumacher won all 18 races of Formula One's longest season.

"If he only managed 16 or 17, it would be an unfinished job," said F1's impresario.

It is unclear whether Ecclestone was being mischievous in raising the prospect of another Schumacher record, but Germany seems to be in agreement.

TV ratings in Schumacher's homeland have risen this season by more than half a million.

Michael Schumacher celebrates another win
Schumacher's domination has not gone down so well outside Germany
And if Jenson Button or David Coulthard were ripping up the record books, wouldn't a British audience be doing the same?

Who protested in 1992 when Nigel Mansell was wrapping up his world championship in record time?

But make no mistake, much of the world is complaining about Schumacher's supremacy at a time when F1 is hyper-sensitive over its long term future.

It is hardly Ferrari's fault that they keep winning. More culpable are their former rivals, Williams and McLaren.

How could Williams have run out of brakes at a circuit that they know so well?

And how much lower can the 1998 champions sink - lapped by Schumacher and beaten by both Sauber drivers?

BAR talk optimistically about catching Ferrari, and understandably so after Button's performance in Imola, and Sato's promise in Barcelona.

Their rise to the front of the grid is one of the season's few highlights.

Theoretically the next race through Monaco's pinball streets could well provide their first victory and dent Schumacher's outstanding start to the season.

If Button or Renault's Jarno Trulli were to get ahead in qualifying, then Schumacher's bid for a sixth straight win could flounder.

But while the failure of the opposition cannot be dumped at Ferrari's door, the champions need to shoulder part of the blame for F1's current insecurity.

The idea Max Mosley's revolution will automatically create more competitive racing is laughable
It was their unsporting conduct in 2002, manipulating race results in Austria and the United States, that provoked so many of the sport's quick fixes.

Muzzling Rubens Barrichello that day in Austria undermined their credibility, and heaped unnecessary outside pressure on the sport to make changes.

Never mind that Barrichello is not in Schumacher's class, team-mates should be allowed to race each other.

That said, Schumacher has conclusively crushed Barrichello's confidence this year, yet the Brazilian remains the German's closest challenger.

Max Mosley's rules blueprint needs careful consideration, not knee-jerk acceptance under the shadow of next month's World Motorsport Council meeting.

Just because Ferrari are again making mugs of their rivals should not necessarily mean another overhaul of the rules.

Sensible solutions to save money should be applauded, but the idea that Mosley's revolution will automatically create more competitive racing is laughable.

If the driver is to become the main force in the cockpit, not electronics, that will favour the best driver. And what's his name?

Arsenal's pursuit of excellence in the Premiership against 19 rivals has defied the odds.

On current form, F1's leading man has all the qualities - including good fortune - to achieve a similar feat.




SEE ALSO
Button 'to end Schumi run'
10 May 04  |  Formula One
Spanish joy for Schumacher
09 May 04  |  Formula One
Schumacher relieved at win
09 May 04  |  Formula One
F1 teams back revolution
04 May 04  |  Formula One


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