Schumacher marks 20 F1 years as title fight resumes in Spa

Formula One returns this weekend after an enforced summer holiday with the teams declaring themselves refreshed and Michael Schumacher hoping to mark the 20th anniversary of his debut in style.

Schumacher, 42, veteran of 278 races and 91 wins since his first competitive appearance at the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix, has enjoyed a special relationship with the famous, old and challenging circuit.

“For me it is hard to believe that I drove my first race at Spa now 20 years ago,” he said.

“So it is going to have a special touch to it this time for me. The place where I drove in F1 for the first time and it was the nearest to my family home.”

Schumacher claimed his maiden F1 win at Spa in 1992 and has revelled in racing there – winning six times in all – during his career of a record seven drivers’ world titles and a catalogue of incidents.

He added: “You know, a lot has changed in those 20 years, but one thing has not – the track is still sensational. I just love the great nature of the location and the resulting layout with all the ups and downs.”

Schumacher and his Mercedes team-mate compatriot Nico Rosberg, 26, know they face a massive challenge this weekend.

In-form McLaren and Ferrari both believe they have a car to triumph in the Belgian Ardennes, where the capricious micro-climate can produce rain at one part of the circuit and sunshine at another, while Red Bull will be bidding to retain their massive advantage in both the drivers’ and the teams’ title races.

McLaren team chief Martin Whitmarsh said: “This final stretch of European races will break the back of the calendar so it’s important that we hit them aggressively and confidently before pushing on into the final flyaways.

“The whole team has returned to work feeling recharged and I’m confident that we’ll see the benefit of that at the racetrack. Despite winning three of the last five Grands Prix, we are still hugely determined to be stronger.”

One factor that may shake up expectations for the weekend is the respective teams’ varying levels of tyre-wear, as Italian suppliers Pirelli believe the gap in performance between their compounds will be the biggest of the season so far.

“It’s a long circuit and the difference is likely to be more than a second per lap – between the soft tyre and the harder one,” said Pirelli chief Paul Hembrey.

Standings

1. Vettel 216,
2. Webber 139,
3. Hamilton 134,
4. Alonso 130,
5. Button 109,
6. Massa 62,
7. Rosberg 46,
8. Nick Heidfeld 34,
9. Petrov 32,
10. Schumacher 32,
11. Kobayashi 27,
12. Sutil 18,
13. Alguersuari 9,
14. Perez 8,
15. Buemi 8,
16. Barrichello 4,
17. Di Resta 2.