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Double champion Schumacher win earns constructors' title for Ferrari
Updated: Sunday October 22, 2000 8:11 AM
SEPANG, Malaysia (AP) -- Michael Schumacher won the Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday and Ferrari captured the team constructors' title to complete its first Formula One double since 1979. Schumacher completed the season with nine wins and his third season driving title. After winning at Benetton in 1994 and 1995, he was the first Ferrari driver to win since Jody Scheckter in 1979. Schumacher held off McLaren's David Coulthard by less than a second over the final 10 laps of the 56-lap race. Rubens Barrichello came in third for Ferrari, 18 seconds back but ahead of Mika Hakkinen, who was hampered by a stop-and-go penalty for jumping the start. It was the 44th career win for Schumacher and ninth of the season. That ties the record of most wins in a Formula One season. Schumacher did it before, in 1995, and Nigel Mansell did it in 1992, although Mansell did his in a 16-race season and Schumacher did both of his in 17 races. Schumacher's next possible target is his fourth world title and a shot at Alain Prost's career victories of 51. "If I can continue winning races," he said. "We will have a good car and a good driver from my side, then there are possibilities. Statistics are a second priority." Coulthard came in second, seven-tenths of a second behind, with Barrichello third. That scored 14 points for Ferrari and moved them up to 170 points for the season and gave them a record 10th team title. "We did it," Schumacher said. "We won the constructors championship after all by doing it the right way. Not on points but finishing first and third. "Now we can go into the winter holiday," Scumacher said. "We did it with a perfect car." Schumacher finished with 108 points for the season. Hakkinen was second with 89 and Coulthard gained third over Barrichello with 73 points. Coulthard said he apologized to Schumacher for comments in the course of the season concerning Schumacher's driving techniques. Once during a race, Coulthard made an obscene gesture at Schumacher. "I just want to end the season in the right way," Coulthard said. "At times during the weekend I could have talked to him, but I didn't want to give him an edge in the race, so I waited until it was over." McLaren's Hakkinen, who was challenging Schumacher throughout the season, came in fourth, making a furious charge through the field after jumping the start and being penalized on the fifth lap with a 10-second stop-and-go penalty that dropped him to 18th. Jacques Villeneuve of BAR-Honda came in fifth and Eddie Irvine, who won the race last year for Ferrari, sixth. Irvine, now in a Jaguar, ended up more than 70 seconds behind. After the finish Schumacher and Barrichello and a majority of the Ferrari team all donned Ferrari red wigs. Schumacher and Barrichello even wore them on the podium after receiving the trophies and spraying the champagne. The race was virtually decided at the start. Hakkinen jumped the start. Although he went out ahead of Schumacher in the pole position, Hakkinen and his team knew he would be penalized. He let his teammate Coulthard pass but Schumacher and Barrichello also went by. Coulthard led through the first 17 laps but had to pit. Schumacher extended the lead and pitted at the end of 24 laps, coming out ahead of Coulthard by 5 seconds. By the end of the 42nd lap, Schumacher's lead was down to a second over Coulthard. Although Coulthard closed to within a half-second with six laps left, Schumacher was very much in control. He immediately brought up the lead to more than a second and held off Coulthard. Hakkinen went in for only one pit stop after his penalty but was too far behind to do any real challenging. He ended up 35 seconds behind Schumacher at the finish with Barrichello in third, 18.4 seconds back. The season ended with Ferrari winning both the team and drivers' title for the first time since 1979. Schumacher won five of the first eight races of the season to move out to a 24-point lead. Hakkinen made a comeback as Schumacher hit an unlucky streak and failed to finish four of five races, inluding two consecutive dropouts at the first turn. Schumacher then turned it around with a teary win at the Italian Grand Prix that started a streak of three wins on three continents -- Europe, North American and Asia. The Japanese win on October 8 sealed the season title by putting him 12 points ahead of Hakkinen. The 2001 season begins in Australia on March 4, followed by the Malaysian race on March 18.
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