Schumacher triumphs with something to spare

The most painful moment for British motor racing fans came when McLaren's David Coulthard lay down his cloak with seven laps remaining. The Scot said: 'I certainly did not expect to be lapped. I cannot remember the last time it happened. 'You think a lot of things when it happens. On a humorous level, you think: I wish I had a lasso to throw on to his wing. Then you think about it seriously. Am I driving slowly? The answer is no. Are you getting everything out of the car? That is what we have to look at. But I am comfortable with what I am doing.'

Coulthard earned - if that's the word - one championship point for his sixth-place finish but his star has fallen a long way in 12 months. A tally of just six points compares with the 26 he had acquired when leaving Imola in 2001 as joint championship leader.

Jenson Button appears to moving in the opposite direction at Renault. His fifth place yesterday represented the third time in a row he has finished in the points since being a victim of the first corner crash in Australia.

'That's the best race of my career,' the young Englishman declared, a view given greater credence in that it was shared by most of the respected observers.

Eddie Irvine, a Jaguar Racing retiree due to drive shaft problem, would be in hell by now if Barrichello had his way. That is where he suggested the Ulsterman head after claiming that the customary overtaking courtesies had not been followed.

Barrichello said: 'He did not let me by for five or six corners. It was silly. And he's the one who always talks so much in drivers' briefings. Blah, blah, blah. He's getting an old man.' That prompted a reply almost Churchillian in its imagery. 'I might be older but I will never be as ugly,' said Irvine.

'He is being over emotional as usual. He should learn to count because it was only two corners later that he went past. I had looked in my mirrors and moved for him to get by but he did not take the initiative.'

That, sadly, was as combative as it got, though the blind faith of the tifosi could never be shaken by mere boredom. The red of Ferrari started at the front of the grid and, after a race where even pit stops failed to generate interest, they duly finished in the front two positions.

Apart from when Ralf Schumacher's Williams jumped past Barrichello on the inside before the first bend, not one of the leading half dozen cars managed to

make an overtaking manoeuvre worthy of the name. It was as if the procession lap which precedes the contest continued for another 62 laps.

In his 97th drive for Ferrari, beating the record set by Gerhard Berger, Schumacher was winning the 56th race of his career after securing his 45th pole position. The statistics scarcely do justice to his domination.

He said: 'I am very proud and it is very special for me to be a part of the history of Ferrari.' Schumacher will be in Paris today to receive an award from UNESCO for his charity work. For him, charity begins only when leaving the track.