Magny-Cours: Ferrari’s Michael Schumacher made Formula One history in France on Sunday, becoming the first driver to win the same Grand Prix eight times.

Schumacher’s commanding victory, from pole position on a sweltering Sunday afternoon at Magny-Cours, left the seven-time champion 17 points adrift of Renault’s Fernando Alonso with seven races remaining.

Spaniard Alonso, the runaway winner in France last year on his way to becoming the sport’s youngest world champion, took second place.

Schumacher crossed the line 10.131 seconds clear of the field, lapping all but the top seven, for his 150th appearance on the podium.

“Looking at this race...We clearly have made up ground,” said Schumacher. “It (the championship) is far from being over.

“Obviously it’s going to be a battle in development but it’s a great result when you see this weekend and how difficult it has been at times.”

Brazilian Felipe Massa was third for Ferrari, with both Ferraris making three pit stops ? one more than Alonso ? in a race without any major incident.

It was the 88th win in Schumacher’s career, his fourth of the season and eighth at Magny-Cours.

“We had a great start and drove our race from there,” said Schumacher. “We were not sure how the race would go because we didn’t do any long runs (in practice).

“So it was a little bit of a guess how the race would go but I have to say that the car, the tyres, the whole package really worked perfectly.”

The German thanked his mechanics for a great job after his car caught fire in Saturday’s free practice, an incident that the team played down at the time as they raced to make repairs before qualifying.

Schumacher’s history-making achievement was not the sort that the yellow-and-blue-shirted fans crowding the grandstands had hoped to see, 100 years after Renault won the first French GP at Le Mans.

After Italy’s World Cup final success over France in Schumacher’s native Germany last Sunday, an Italian team had once again dashed French hopes with Ferrari dominant in Renault’s home race.

Alonso put the result into perspective, however.

“To be second, on a difficult weekend for us, is a perfect result,” said the Spaniard, who pushed Massa hard into the first corner but then had to wait until the pitstops to go past.

“It was close, I was nearly on the grass at one point so I had to back off,” he said.

Schumacher, already far and away the most successful driver in F1 history, punched the air with his fists as he crossed the line for his second win in a row after Indianapolis on July 2.

Out of the car, the 37-year-old hugged French team boss Jean Todt with the Italian flag in his hands.

Schumacher’s younger brother Ralf was fourth for Toyota, after leading for two laps at the first stops, ahead of McLaren’s Kimi Raikkonen.

Italian Giancarlo Fisichella was sixth for Renault, with Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa seventh and back on the scoresheet for McLaren after a year’s absence.

Test driver de la Rosa was replacing Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya, who announced last weekend that he was leaving F1 for the US Nascar series next year.

Germany’s Nick Heidfeld took the final point for BMW Sauber.

Meanwhile, Formula One’s governing body has dismissed as ‘wholly inadequate’ an offer by car manufacturers to create a 40 million euro ($50.70 million) fund to help independent teams secure affordable engines.

At the same time, champions Renault disassoc- iated themselves from the proposal.

A statement issued earlier by the Grand Prix Manufacturers' Association (GPMA) ? grouping BMW, Renault, DaimlerChrysler, Honda and Toyota ? said the fund would help cut costs considerably for smaller teams over the next four years.

“The engine fund provides the opportunity for an independent engine supplier to plan a structured development programme and ensure its engines remain competitive and affordable,” the statement said.

“This initiative is without precedent in motor sport and represents a significant effort to reach out to all teams, in the best interest of the sport.”

Renault said the GPMA statement was released without their agreement and they were not a party to it.

The manufacturers made the offer as part of attempts to stave off a total freeze on engine development from 2008, when the Concorde Agreement governing the sport expires.

The governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) has said that next season will start with engines returning to the developmental stage they were at in June this year.

FRENCH GP

RESULTS

1. Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) 1:32:07.803; 2. Fernando Alonso (Renault) +00:10.131; 3. Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 00:22.546; 4. Ralf Schumacher (Toyota) 00:27.212; 5. Kimi Raikkonen (McLaren) 00:33.006; 6. Giancarlo Fisichella (Renault) 00:45.265; 7. Pedro de la Rosa (McLaren) 00:49.407; 8. Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber) 1 lap; 9. David Coulthard (RedBull-Ferrari) 1 lap; 10. Scott Speed (Toro Rosso-Cosworth) 1 lap; 11. Jacques Villeneuve (BMW Sauber) 1 lap; 12. Christian Klien (Red Bull-Ferrari) 1 lap; 13. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Toro Rosso-Cosworth) 1 lap; 14. Nico Rosberg (Williams-Cosworth) 2 laps; 15. Christijan Albers (MF1-Toyota) 2 laps; 16. Franck Montagny (Super Aguri-Honda) 3 laps; r. Jenson Button (Honda) 9 laps; r. Mark Webber (Williams-Cosworth) 17 laps; r. Jarno Trulli (Toyota) 31 laps; r. Rubens Barrichello (Honda) 52 laps; r. Tiago Monteiro (MF1-Toyota) 59 laps; r. Takuma Sato (Super Aguri-Honda) 70 laps

STANDINGS

(TOP-10)
Drivers — 1. Fernando Alonso (Renault) 96; 2. Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) 79; 3. Giancarlo Fisichella (Renault) 46; 4. Kimi Raikkonen (McLaren) 43; 5. Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 42; 6. Juan Pablo Montoya (McLaren) 26; 7. Jenson Button (Honda) 16; 8. Rubens Barrichello (Honda) 16; 9. Ralf Schumacher (Toyota) 13; 10. Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber) 13

Constructors — 1. Renault 142; 2. Ferrari 121; 3. McLaren-Mercedes 71; 4. Honda 32; 5. Toyota 21; 6. BMW Sauber 20; 7. RedBull-Ferrari 11; 8. Williams-Cosworth 10; 9. Toro Rosso-Cosworth 1; 10. MF1-Toyota 0