After six thrilling races (from Melbourne to Monte Carlo), no one looked more in control than German ace Michael Schumacher. After demolishing his rivals in five of the six Grand Prix (GP) races, Schumi seemed near-invincible. And his winning streak continued at the European GP as well. The track at Nurburgring in Germany?s Eifel Mountains saw the local lad blazing past the flag ahead of everyone else. Interestingly, David Coulthard and Kimi Raikkonen who drove around the route slowing down those behind them, drew a blank when their respective engines blew up ? not very good publicity for Mercedes, especially on home ground. The race also saw Rubens Barrichello being given a tough time by Takuma Sato, but the Brazilian zoomed into second place after Sato was forced to get a new nosecone. Sharing the podium with Schumacher and Barrichello was Jenson Button.

Next up was the Canadian GP and it was here that Schumacher recorded both his 77th GP victory and his seventh Canadian win. It all came down to strategy as brother Ralf raced off into the distance. But while Ralf was on a three pit-stop strategy, Michael was on two, and thus, each time Ralf went in, Michael gained time and finally came out in front. Rubens and Michael did play a game, making it look as if they were racing each other, but everyone knows that Rubens is paid not to overtake Michael. Then the two Williams and the two Toyotas were disqualified for illegal brake ducts and Ralf lost the second spot. One Schumacher may have been down and out but the other was still at the top of his game.

The US GP at Indianapolis made news not so much for the racing but for the Indycar-style accident Ralf had in his Williams during the 10th lap. He emerged, suffering from fractured vertebrae and had to undergo a long recovery period. When the safety car came out, both the Ferraris were called in. Michael was in first and so, Rubens had to patiently wait his turn. This put Michael in a favourable position with a considerable lead and he held on to it till the end. Rubens tried his best to make up but was no match for the German. Third place went to Takuma Sato, only the second Japanese driver ever to stand on the podium after Aguri Suzuki in 1990.

After kicking up dust in the States, it was back to Europe and Magny-Cours in the unpopular Nevers region in France for the French GP. By now, almost every F1 watcher out there was expecting Schumi to reign supreme yet again. And the German lived up to expectations. Things started well enough for the locals with Spaniard Alonso not only planting his French Renault on pole but leading the race for quite a bit. Then Ferrari decided on an extra pitstop for Michael and having the pace for it, he was in front at the chequered flag. Team-mate Rubens came in third and the Axis registered yet another win.

Strategy is the name of the game nowadays and at the British GP, it soon became clear that Schumacher was going to win simply because he had one pitstop less than Raikkonen. True, McLaren had come up with a very fast and reliable car for a change, which actually allowed the Finn to have a sniff at victory, thanks to Trulli crashing into the barriers and bringing the safety car on. It allowed Raikkonen to get some fresh rubber on and to move up behind Schumacher at the restart.

The German GP was notable for a number of personal records, all of them picked up by Schumacher. The race marked his 11th win in 12 GPs, his third at Hockenheim and his sixth consecutive GP win. While all that?s very good, the man who almost outshone Schumi was none other the young maverick, Jenson Button who zoomed from 13th on the grid to second place, having been penalised 10 spots for an engine change misdemeanour. Raikkonen was doing well until his McLaren was suddenly transformed into a Formula Maruti thanks to the rear wing disintegrating and he went off the track ? quite scary at those speeds.

Next in line was the Hungarian GP, acknowledged to be the most boring race on the calendar, as it?s more of a parade, overtaking being virtually impossible. Michael duly won here too, his 12th win of the year and consequently handed the Constructor?s Title to Ferrari. Coming in second at the race was Rubens followed by Alonso.

After the yawn-inducing Hungarian meet, the Belgian GP at the Spa-Francorchamps track came as much-needed relief. The race saw a number of cars crashing but at the same time, threw up some really close racing. Raikkonen got his (and McLaren?s) first win for the season. However, Spa has always proved lucky for Schumacher since his debut here several years ago and he picked up the Driver?s Championship title by coming second, well ahead of Barrichello who won third place. There were three safety car periods, one prompted by a Michelin tyre failure on Button?s BAR at 200mph.

The rest of the season saw the Rest of the World doing its best to catch up. Barrichello ousted all the others to speed past the flag first at the Italian GP at Monza. Disappointingly, Schumacher?s dry tyres on a wet track had him spinning on the first lap and dropping to last place. The Chinese GP was a combination of a new venue and track and two drivers made quite a comeback here. Ralf Schumacher returned after his spill at Indianapolis and Jacques Villeneuve got behind the wheel of a Renault, the latter being a masterstroke of Renault team boss, Flavio Briatore. Barrichello won again at the Chinese track even as Schumacher was at his melodramatic best, running into other cars before finishing in 12th position.

Of course, the German redeemed himself at the Japanese GP, leading from pole. Younger brother Ralf finished second while Button and Sato came in third and fourth respectively. The final race of the year, the Brazilian GP saw a brand-new winning combination in the form of Juan Pablo Montoya and Williams-BMW. Michael Schumacher started in the company of the other Italian team, Minardi in 18th place and finished seventh. The season ended with Axis registering 13 big victories and Rest of the World, a mere five.

When it came to points, Michael Schumacher led with a thumping 148, Rubens Barrichello notched up a worthy 114 and Jenson Button finished with 85. The team standings had Ferrari in first place with an amazing 262, BAR, second with 119 and Renault, third with 105. No other team made it to three figures. Ferrari?s domination was not only total but they could also actually afford to toy with the opposition. The most telling comment came from Jordan team boss, Eddie Jordan who hoped that Michael Schumacher would retire soon. All in all, F1 season this year might have belonged to one man, but it was refreshing to see some fine performances such as that of BAR finally emerging as a top-three team, ironically, in the face of Jacques Villeneuve?s comeback.

My dream car

Karan Paul
entrepreneur

I tend to rate a car simply by the rush I get while driving around in it ? and scoring way up in this respect are my three dream cars, the Mercedes SLR, the 360 Modena Ferrari and the Porsche 911. Not only are all of these hugely powerful, guaranteed to get your adrenaline pumping, but their beautiful lines and sleek designs are pretty amazing as well.

While I haven?t yet had the opportunity to drive the Mercedes SLR, I drove my cousin?s Modena in London and the experience was just awesome ? it?s the smoothest ride ever. And I test drove the 997 ? the latest model of Porsche 911 in Delhi and that was quite a rush as well. It?s a small, compact car with fantastic handling and it goes from 0 to 60 in just about 5 seconds. But that car might not remain a dream one for too long ? by next year, I hope to have it sitting pretty in my garage next to the ones I?m driving right now.