St anding on the edge of history

Formula One Japanese Grand Prix: Forty-six years ago Juan Manuel Fangio climbed from his Maserati 250F at the end of a gruelling 22 laps of the old 14.2-mile, 187-turn Nurburgring with a record that still stand stands.

Five world drivers' championship titles, recorded in an astounding seven seasons. Unrepeatable, unbeatable, a landmark record belonging to the greatest driver to ever take the wheel of a Formula One car.

Until now. In the small hours of tomorrow morning Irish time, Michael Schumacher will climb aboard his Ferarri F2003-GA car and slot himself onto the Suzuka grid, his eye on an unprecedented prize. Six titles.

Yes the time frame is longer, with Schumacher competing in his 12th season, but the seasons are longer, and the disparity between the front runners is not as pronounced.

For Schumacher to eclipse Fangio's record he requires just to finish in the points, even if closest title rival Kimi Raikkonen of McLaren wins the Japanese Grand Prix. It isn't academic - as Schumacher's oft-repeated mantra of "to be first, first you have to finish" attests - but it is about as close as one can come without actually laying an acquisitive finger on title and record.

But despite the prospect of so luminous, so surely unsurpassable a landmark, for Schumacher there is no comparison. He and Fangio are chalk and cheese.

"It is a limp comparison since what Fangio achieved at that time in Formula One was simply exceptional," said Schumacher. "Everything is different today, just from the safety point of view alone. You could never have envisaged then going as fast as we do today. Comparisons are unfair."

Or perhaps like Fangio, Schumacher is just aware of his fragility, the possibility that the record is not his birthright. As Fangio once said: "You must always strive to be the best, but you must never believe you are."

Few believe Schumacher is anything other than that, but the German still takes convincing. And tomorrow he will be looking around him, searching out Raikkonen, knowing the Finn is still in the fight, even if it is a rearguard action.

Raikkonen has been this season's dark horse, despite the plaudits that have come his way since he first appeared in the sport behind the wheel of a Sauber in Melbourne in 2001.

Hamstrung by a season running in last year's constantly developed but never quick enough McLaren MP4-17 Raikkonen picked up his maiden victory in Malaysia at the start of the campaign, to lead the championship, and then slowly faded from view as Williams and Juan Pablo Montoya staged a starrier assault on Schumacher.

But while Montoya's tilt was flashbombs and rock and roll, a fireworks display drowned out in the Indianapolis rain, Raikkonen was middle of the road, sure and steady. And while his progress has featured an unglamorous single victory compared with Schumacher's six, he has scored regularly under the new points system and could prove the old adages of turtles and hares right yet.

And the soft-spoken, unglamorous Finn confirmed it yesterday, commenting: "At the end of the day we are here to do our best and that is what we will continue to do."

Fighting talk it wasn't. And indeed, any fight that comes is likely to be short, cruel and comprehensive and there will only be one winner - Schumacher.

It's something that has been in the offing since the German, on his debut, unconcernedly planted his Jordan sixth on the grid at the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix and set the sport alight. It has the smack of destiny.

Elsewhere, Sauber yesterday confirmed that Ferrari test driver Felipe Massa will be their second driver next year, alongside Giancarlo Fisichella who departs Jordan after tomorrow's final race of the season.

Massa's arrival at Sauber, leaves current drivers Heinz-Harald Frenzten and Nick Heidfeld without drives for next year and both have in recent months being linked with moves to Jordan, though both would need to bring an estimated €4m in sponsorship to the team.

Frentzen has also been linked with a drive in DTM, the German Touring Car series, for Opel.