Schumacher Puts Irvine Back On Top.

Michael Schumacher stood by his promise to help Ferrari team-mate Eddie Irvine's title challenge by twice allowing the Irishman to pass en route to Malaysian Grand Prix victory.


Irvine's victory - allied to a disappointing third overall for title rival Mika Hakkinen - means that the Ferrari man goes into the final round of the world championship, at Suzuka in two weeks' time, with a four point advantage.


The two scarlet cars made the best getaway to comfortably lead the field into the first corner. Behind, the McLarens and two Stewarts followed in formation, Rubens Barrichello getting ahead of team-mate Johnny Herbert in the only change over grid positions. At the front, Schumacher seemed in control, stretching away from the following train almost at will, and suggesting that it would be a late hand-over of victory to Irvine, all being well.


To the amazement of many, however, Schumacher slowed on lap four, allowing Irvine to drive past as the German attempted to hold the McLarens at bay. The Irishman then established a lead of his own within a lap, and needed to, as David Coulthard bundled his way past Schumacher at turn two the next time around, and set about closing the gap to the leader. Schumacher recovered sufficiently from the brush with the Scot to hold off Hakkinen, but the two began a nose-to-tail partnership that lasted for almost the entire race.


Within a handful of laps, Coulthard had closed up on Irvine, harrying the Ferrari without ever being close enough for a realistic pass. The two ran in close company, gradually pulling away from third and fourth over the next five laps. All four started to exchange lap records, but the gaps between them remained static as tyres began to suffer in the heat and humidity.


Suddenly, Irvine came around with an increased advantage, Coulthard having slowed dramatically on the back straight. The Scot's engine, he reported, had simply died coming out of the penultimate corner, and there was nothing he could do but coast into retirement. Schumacher had to take avoiding action as he encountered the slowing McLaren on the exit of the corner, but both pursuers escaped unharmed.


Coulthard's name was thus added to a growing retirement list, which opened on the warm-up lap with Jarno Trulli's engine failure. Damon Hill failed to complete a circuit for the second time in as many races, the victim of a punt from Giancarlo Fisichella which the Italian survived, while Olivier Panis (engine), Ricardo Zonta (engine and spin), Tora Takagi and Ralf Schumacher (spin) all preceded the Scot out of the race.


With Schumacher playing the perfect support role, Irvine was able to extend his advantage as the race approached half-distance. Morning warm-up had seen the teams experimenting with various fuel loads in order to judge the best strategy for the race, but it remained unclear who would opt for one or two stops.


In the end, Irvine was second of the frontrunners to call in - after Barrichello - and was turned around in a shade over seven seconds. Although coming on lap 25 - just under half distance - this pointed to two stops but, with opening fuel loads still a mystery, the suspense would continue.


Hakkinen was in two laps later, taking almost a second less than Irvine to rejoin, before Schumacher made his stop next time around. Interestingly, the German was stationary for a massive 10.9secs, almost certainly confirming that both Irvine and Hakkinen would have to stop again, but leaving Ferrari covering all the bases.


Once Herbert had made his stop, the top five maintained station, with only an ever-changing occupancy of sixth to keep the scorers awake. Coulthard's retirement promoted first Alex Wurz, then Jean Alesi to the final scoring place, before the recovering Heinz-Harald Frentzen finally made up enough ground to join the fight. The German had all but conceded his title aspirations after qualifying a lowly 14th, but continued to show the battling qualities which have accompanied his return to the front. Jacques Villeneuve was also in the mix for BAR's first points but would, ultimately, notch another late-race retirement.


Irvine stopped again on lap 41, this time taking just under seven seconds to complete the routine, and rejoined immediately behind the Schumacher-Hakkinen battle. The gap between the lead pair and the Irishman grew steadily as Irvine settled back into his rhythm on scrubbed tyres, before settling at the six second mark heading into the final fifth of the race.


There appeared to little action either at the front or in the McLaren pit to suggest that Hakkinen was in need of a second stop, and question marks began to be raised over the Woking team's strategy. Had Ferrari been sold a dummy? Was Hakkinen carrying enough fuel to make it to the finish on a single stop? And what was Schumacher's role now, given that Irvine was two places adrift of the lead Ferrari?


The debate continued until lap 47, when Hakkinen finally peeled into the pits for a late splash-and-dash. Now McLaren's strategy began to be questioned for other reasons, for Schumacher's controlled driving tactics had allowed not only Irvine, but also Herbert to close in on the lead battle. When Hakkinen rejoined, he has dropped to fourth behind the lead Stewart, and suddenly Irvine's title hopes looked rosier than for some time.


Once clear of the McLaren, Schumacher duly dropped his pace until he was able to let Irvine through for a second time, before picking it up again to stay within spitting distance of the Irishman. Hakkinen, in the meantime, was struggling to find a way past the resurgent Herbert. Buoyed by his Nurburgring victory, the English driver could scent another podium, and it took a late-breaking manoeuvre from Hakkinen to ease the Finn past the tyre-troubled Stewart, and back into third spot.


By then, however, the race was done and dusted, and it was Ferrari that cleaned up. A resounding one-two finish was just what the Italian team had been looking for to haul itself and its driver back into the championship chase and, although, its tactics didn't find favour with everyone in the paddock, left the situation delicately poised with one race to run. Herbert's fourth, ahead of team-mate Barrichello moved Stewart ahead of a scoreless Williams in the constructors' standings, with Frentzen hanging on to pick up the final point.


McLaren's Ron Dennis, obviously disappointed at having been beaten by strategy, suggested that Ferrari's tactics had not been in the spirit of the sport, and made several pointed remarks about the state of Irvine's tyres when the cars reached parc ferme. A protest could yet alter the result but, until it does, Irvine heads for Suzuka - a favourite circuit of his - with a four point lead.


He can't start cruising yet but, with a team-mate who is obviously back in top form and standing by his word, the Irishman must surely have one hand reaching out for the championship trophy.