San Marino Grand Prix -- Results, SPOILER WARNING

Michael Schumacher clinched his sixth San Marino Grand Prix victory and the 74th F1 win of his astounding career. The Ferrari driver got ahead of Button after the first pit stops and never looked back. Button brough home his BAR Honda in second ahead of the BMW Williams of Juan Pablo Montoya.

There was no sign of the fearsome storm that struck the Imola circuit late on Saturday night and washed all the grippy rubber from the sufrace, but it was certainly not cool with track temperature recorded at 38 degrees Centigrade and the air at 19 degrees Centigrade as the cars lined up on the grid under glorious sunshine.

Jenson Button made a searing start from pole position to streak off into the lead ahead of Michael Schumacher who blocked a steaming Michael Schumacher into the first corner. The pair battled into Villeneuve chicane as Michael Schumacher pushed Montoya right to the outside of the Tosa hairpin running the Colombian off the road.

Ralf Schumacher consequently took a run at Montoya who covered his line forcing Ralf to take to the grass, and consequently drop the German to fourth. Meanwhile McLaren's dreadful weekend continued as Coulthard went off in the first corner after touching the rear of Jarno Trulli's Renault forcing the Scot to pit for a new front wing.

At the front of the field Jenson Button streaked away with a lead of over two seconds at the end of the first lap from Michael Schmacher, Juan Pablo Montoya, Takuma Sato, Ralf Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello completing the top six.

Michael Schumacher began to respond as his Bridgestone tyres found their form, the German pegged Button's lead down to just 0.9s at the end of lap four as the pair lapped a second faster than third placed Montoya, who himself was lapping a second faster than fourth placed Sato.

Montoya was the first leader to pit for fuel and tyres at the end of lap eight, and race leader Jenson Button pitted from the lead at the end of lap nine. Released into the lead Michael Schumacher put on a startling pace - recording a lap of 1m20.411s - almost a second faster than he had gone behind Button as the second Ferrari of Barrichello pitted on lap ten.

Michael Schumacher pitted at the end of lap eleven after firing in a couple of very fast laps to be able to take the lead very easily from Jenson Button after the first round of pit stops shook out.

Speculation mounted in the pit lane whether BAR Honda had changed Jenson Button's strategy to two stops as his lap times were over a second slower than Michael Schumacher after the first pit stop, which for Button lasted almost three seconds longer than the Ferrari.

There was no change in the running order until the second round of pit stops as Montoya was again the first to pit from third on lap twenty-five as Michael Schumacher led Button by seventeen seconds. Button surprised everyone when he made his second stop on lap twenty-six, indicating he was in fact on a three-stop. Michael Schumacher put in another seamless pit stop on lap twenty-seven as he looked certain to cruise home to his fourth successive win of the season.

An exciting pit lane battle followed between Ralf Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello as the pair pitted on lap twenty eight from third and fourth with Williams managing to maintain the edge over the second Ferrari, but coming close to collision in the pit lane

After a gamble on strategy Renault managed to jump Fernando Alonso ahead of Barrichello and Jarno Trulli in the final round of pit stops The Spaniard caught the BMW Williams of Ralf Schumacher and tried a daring move down the inside into the Tosa hairpin, coming into contact with Ralf and pitching him into a spin.

Alonso escaped into fourth as Ralf dropped to seventh recovering from the spin. Meanwhile the Spaniard put the hammer down and set about closing in on third place Juan Pablo Montoya in the final ten laps of the Grand Prix. As Alonso closed to within two seconds of Montoya, there was tension in the BAR garage as the Honda engine in the back of Takuma Sato's car blew up in dramatic fashion with just five laps to go.

There were no surprises at the front, however, as Michael Schumacher retained his lead and cruised home to his fourth win from four attempts so far this season. The German clinched his 74th Grand Prix after a masterful display of dominant pace. Jenson Button brought home his BAR Honda in second for his and BAR's best ever result.

Montoya held on to third to finish on the podium just ahead of the late charging Fernando Alonso. Renault enjoyed a positive show with Trulli in fifth ahead of the second struggling Ferrari of Rubens Barrichello, and the second BMW Williams of Ralf Schumacher.

There was a point of consolation for McLaren as Kimi Raikkonen finally opened his account for 2004, claiming eighth after starting from the back of the grid.

Brazil still in thrall to the Senna legend

Thursday April 22, 2004
The Guardian

The cult of a motor racing icon remains potent 10 years after his death, reports Alex Bellos in São Paulo

In the centre of São Paulo's exclusive Morumbi cemetery lies the grave of Ayrton Senna. It is not an ornate graveyard, as one might expect in Roman Catholic Brazil, but an understated garden of remembrance where the tombs are buried under a well-tended lawn. Senna's spot is cordoned off with black-and-yellow tape and is surrounded by plants and flowers. A small Brazilian flag waves in the breeze.

Senna's grave is remarkably discreet considering the three-times world champion's position as possibly Brazil's greatest hero. Only outside the cemetery is there an inkling of the late formula one driver's status - a hut by the entrance sells Senna memorabilia, including helmets, photographs and stick-on tattoos.

"He is immortal," says Sonia Barbosa, who has run the hut since immediately after Senna died at Imola 10 years ago on May 1. "He was a simple, humble man who captivated the world."

Senna's death left a mark on the Brazilian psyche perhaps greater than any other event in the country's history. The driver is idolised in a way that is not even afforded to its most famous footballers. "Brazilians revere Senna in almost the same way that Argentina covets Carlos Gardel [the king of tango] or Evita Peron, idols enveloped with the aura of saints," wrote the news magazine Veja last week.

"Senna was the guy who people would wake up to on Sunday mornings and watch wave the Brazilian flag at a time when the country was in political crisis. He represented victorious Brazil," says the sports columnist Juca Kfouri. "But his death took unprecedented dimensions in the popular consciousness. The national trauma was so much greater because everyone saw it live on TV."

When Senna's coffin returned to São Paulo half a million people followed it through the streets. It was the beginning of Senna's sanctification.

A measure of the extent to which he was idolised is that only last week was the first serious biography written by a Brazilian published. For years no one dared demystify Senna.

Even though Senna was often a shrewd, calculating and aggressive driver, he is revered as an honest and hardworking winner in the European mould. Unlike Brazil's footballers, who perform in their own playful, tricksy way, Senna is considered to have beaten the first world at its own game.

But, while Senna's memory is put on a pedestal, his image is so ubiquitous in Brazilian life that he is virtually impossible to ignore. Throughout Brazil, streets, garages, schools and shops are named after him. And not just small culs-de-sac. The motorway into São Paulo from the airport bears his name, as does one of Rio de Janeiro's main arteries.

The brand Senna - and the spin-offs Senninha, a children's cartoon character, and Senninha Baby - are thriving, earning about £2m in royalties every year. More than 100,000 Brazilians have a Senna credit card which earns them points to buy Senna merchandise as well as contributing to the Ayrton Senna Institute, which strives to improve education in Brazil.

Adriane Galisteu, Senna's girlfriend when he died, has become a popular media figure and presents an evening chat show on one of the main television channels.

Senna launched Senninha shortly before he died. Rather than retiring him after Imola, Senninha has grown from strength to strength and now rivals Mickey Mouse in the hearts of young Brazilians, even those born years after Senna died.

Senninha is a boy who lives with a community of friends by a race track. Rather than playing football he races a go-kart. Senninha has all the qualities that celebrate Senna; he is simple, honest, hardworking and, above all, a winner.

There are more than 200 Senninha products, including books, shoes, cosmetics and foodstuffs. TAM, Brazil's second airline, is developing an in-flight safety video using the character. You can even buy Senninha Baby nappies.

"Senninha has broken through the barrier of Senna. He survives independently," says Rodrigo Silveira, marketing director of Senna brands. "Young people don't understand the feeling that my generation have for Ayrton. But they still want to buy Senninha products."

For grown-ups there is an ever expanding line of Senna luxury goods. The range includes sunglasses, jet boats and, launched last week, a 31ft Senna yacht. There are plans for Senna helicopters.

The demand for products around the world - especially in Japan - is such that annual limited-edition TAG-Heuer watches with the Senna S2 logo sell out almost immediately - even though, at $3,000 (£1,700), they are about 10% more expensive than the equivalent non-Senna watches.

According to Silveira, the earnings from Senna brands and merchandise are growing by 12-15% each year. The royalties are channelled into the Ayrton Senna Institute, run by his older sister Viviane.

The institute focuses on education because shortly before Senna died he told Viviane that he wanted to do something for Brazilian children. She set up the institute a few months after his death and it has grown so fast that it has now reached some four million Brazilian children. Viviane is one of Brazil's most high-profile women and, when President Lula da Silva was elected in 2002, it was reported that he wanted to make her a government minister.

Of the many projects that the institute has pioneered several use the iconography of Senna and motor racing metaphors. Accelerate Brazil, for one, is a programme to stop school pupils repeating years and has been adopted as part of four state governments' education policies. Other projects deal with illiteracy, computers, sport and art.

Margareth Goldenberg, who coordinates the social projects, says: "For a long time all the characteristics of Brazil's heroes were that they were crafty and sly. Ayrton was the opposite. He said you win with honesty, perseverance and hard work. This is what we try to pass to the kids. Ayrton was a symbol of how to do things properly."

Senna by numbers:

3 The formula one world championships he won - 1998, 1990 and 1991

4 The age Senna first sat in the cockpit of a go-kart, built by his father for his birthday

8 The pole positions the Brazilian won at Imola between 1985 and 1994, with three race victories

18 The minutes into the race that Senna crashed at Imola on May 1 1994

22 The Brazil footballers who dedicated their 1994 World Cup success to Senna

41 The grands prix he won

200 The different Senninha products - ranging from books to cosmetics, nappies, above, to T-shirts, below

381 The pages in the report written by the Italian judge who blamed the fatal crash on the failure of the steering column of Senna's Williams. The six defendants were cleared of manslaughter

55 The thousands of dollars a buyer paid for the nose cone of Senna's 1987 Lotus

13 The age at which he lost his virginity and the inches shorter he was than his companion

http://sport.guardian.co.uk/formulaone/comment/0,10070,1200254,00.html

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