Schumacher reigns in Spain as Jordan cars fail to finish

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER splashed his way to his first, Grand Prix victory in a Ferrari, demonstrating peerless driving talent in monsoon conditions which only six drivers survived.

There was heartache for Jordan as Rubens Barrichello dropped out of fourth place with clutch: trouble while Martin Brundle was sidelined by transmission failure.

Eddie Irvine skated off the Barcelona track after five miles in driving conditions that also caught out World Championship leader Damon Hill.

There were scenes of joy and emotion after Schumacher's historic win but he had not been confident before the race: "I, would not have bet a penny on me to win," said the world's highest paid driver after the race: "In the other wet races like Monaco or Brazil the car was not good. So I was surprised when it was good in the morning warm up."

Ferrari were getting increasingly anxious to score their first win with their star driver and a poor start left him a lot to do: "I wouldn't describe it as a poor start - it was a disaster! I went for the clutch and there was nothing. Then I nearly stalled. Lots of people went past before I got going. I now have sympathy for people at the back because I could not see anything!

Schumacher finished the first lap in seventh place following a ball of spray that consisted of the two Benettons, the two Williams and Barrichello and Irvine. Despite the downpour he swiftly set about stalking his prey and by lap to be had forced his way past Villeneuve and into the lead. Once past he strode away, leaving all behind at a rate of over three seconds a lap. His touch was sure despite the speed and conditions.

"I took some very different lines and that helped," he said modestly. At half distance Schumacher detected a change in the engine note: "It lapsed onto nine cylinder and then with 20 laps to go, it went onto eight. There was a big drop in power. I couldn't even get to the rev limiter in fifth at the end of the straight."

Nevertheless the German was about 45 seconds clear of Jean Alesi and early leader Jacque Villeneuve, as he took the chequered flag for his first win for the legendary Italian team.

Despite being soaked and freezing cold. Schumacher leapt from his car after the finish and embraced the many Ferrari staff that had toiled long and hard for this win. Schumacher punched the air with delight and lifted his French team manager Jean Todt as the two embraced in celebration.

"I am really delighted with this win," he said. "It was not a present to us - we have worked hard though I have to say I honestly do not know why the car was so good today. I think maybe just this circuit suits us."

While the German sprayed the winners champagne on his adoring team, arch rival Damon Hill was packing his bags for the journey to Barcelona airport and the onward flight to Dublin.

Hill skated off the circuit three times in the first eight laps and it was a case of third time unlucky. After surviving the first two, the third ended with the car smashed against the pit wall: "Today was a bad day for me. I made two mistakes and then finally made a third mistake. To be honest with these conditions I am almost pleased to be out of it. It was very very dangerous - very difficult to see. I am disappointed."

Eddie Irvine started well, finishing the first lap in sixth place. It was the last we saw of him until he walked back into the paddock, drenched after his trek back from his beached Ferrari: "I got caught out with one of the streams running across the track," he said "The conditions were atrocious - but the same for everyone."

Irvine's car looked very unstable in the wet morning warm up.

Eddie Jordan knows races like yesterday can yield podiums for his team and a clever one stop strategy and smooth execution of the refuelling saw Rubens Barrichello running as high as second, before Gary Anderson ran from the pit wall to view the garage telemetry. "We have a little problem," he said. Two laps later Gary was telling Rubens on the radio to "turn off the clutch on the dash". That didn't cure the problem and Rubens returned to the pits. He got out and the car was pulled into the garage. Minutes later the place burst into action as the engineers believed they had solved the problem and with only six cars running Barrichello was instructed to get back into his soaking overalls: "The clutch wasn't catching the drive, but we thought we had it solved. It didn't work but was worth a try," he said, after the car coasted to a stop on the first lap, of its return.

Eddie Jordan was not a happy man: "Our reliability let us down today. It's a pity because the strategy of running a very full tank and delaying the pit stop was working well." The result drops Jordan to seventh in the constructors championship as the series nears it's half way mark.

. Michael Andretti's choice of stickier tyres gave him the grip he needed to overtake Al Unser, Jr and win the Milwaukee 209 IndyCar race yesterday. Andretti averaged 128.282 miles per hour in his Lola Ford Cosworth, finishing .019 seconds ahead of Unser's Penske Mercedes Benz Ilmor, thanks to a late restart in the race that concluded under a caution flag. Unser's teammate, Canadian Paul Tracy, was the only other driver to hold a lead in the 200 lap race at the Milwaukee Mile oval track and finished third. Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi in another Penske Mercedes Benz Ilmor finished fourth.