MOTOR SPORT/Formula One Championship: In the three weeks since Michael Schumacher's ignominious exit from the Bahrain Grand Prix after only 12 laps, the Formula One paddock has been frantically, and with no little pleasure, writing off Ferrari's new car.
Yesterday, on the Italian team's home soil, Schumacher force-fed the critics their negativity with a drive of stunning, and for the other teams alarming, pace and brilliance.
The win might have gone to championship leader Fernando Alonso of Renault, but as Schumacher hassled and harried the Spaniard through the closing laps, the message was as loud and clear as the roars of the tifosi - Ferrari are back, frighteningly so.
It shouldn't have been so after yesterday morning's final qualifying session. Third after Saturday's session, Schumacher made a monstrous error on his single morning lap, clipping a bump in the track into Rivazza, which with a heavy fuel load unbalanced his car, causing a brake lock-up that sent him off.
Dropped to 14th on the grid, Schumacher should have been a write-off and as he became log-jammed, in the race's early laps, by a procession of cars backed by the Toyota of his brother Ralf, murmurings of the demise of a great power began to resurface.
But wrapped up in the morning's calamity was the formula for Schumacher's stunning performance in the second half of the afternoon.
The error-inducing fuel load suddenly became the champion's chief ally. As Fernando Alonso - who had inherited the lead from polesitter Kimi Raikkonen after the Finn had exited the race after just nine laps with apparent gearbox problems - and BAR's Jenson Button made for the pits, Schumacher made his move.
The German, with more fuel on board and pace to spare, set his own pace, a blistering quartet of laps that saw him climb from 10th to third as the field headed for the pit lane and he profited.
Having been 35 second adrift of Alonso at one-third race distance, the German emerged from his own stop at the end of lap 27, a phenomenal 10 seconds closer to the front. From there it was a case of watching in amazement as he set alight the circuit named for the founder of his team.
The collapse of the advantages held by Button and Alonso was spectacular, their fall punctuated by the relentless beat of Schumacher's lap times scrolling up on the circuit's big screens.
Like dominoes, the 20 seconds Button had in hand on lap 29 tumbled as the champion roared around the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari a full two seconds a lap faster than the Briton. By lap 47, the BAR driver's comfort zone was breached. As Button was held up by duelling Williams cars, Schumacher stormed past the BAR driver on the inside at the Variante Alta chicane, seizing second and a sight of Alonso.
The Spaniard though was not for turning as easily as Button.
Alonso is a a fiercely determined driver who can already see bright and glorious light at the end of the 16-race tunnel that is the rest of this season.
Schumacher hustled, muscled and harried but Alonso refused to buckle, just hanging onto a lead he had been comfortable with until the closing 10 laps.
"I think that was probably one of the best fights I've ever had," the Spaniard admitted later. "I knew Michael was one second faster than me and my only chance was to hold him up in mid-corner and then bring the throttle up a little earlier than him so I got a good run in the straights. Luckily it worked.
"But," he added fiercely when asked if he thought about letting Schumacher past and boosting his championship lead with eight points instead of 10, "I never though about settling for second. Not at all. From the moment Kimi (Raikkonen) retired I only ever had one thought. I was ready to fight for the win."
For Schumacher it was a vindication. He can take comfort from the fact that at last this season he has the tools from Ferrari to demonstrate the thrilling skills he still possesses. With Renault still on the pace, BAR finding theirs again and Ferrari back on the game, the season has just found a new momentum.
Next stop, Barcelona, home turf for Alonso. Not a loss he can afford. One Schumacher needs to ensure.
At Imola 62 laps:
1 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1hour 27min 41.921secs
2 Michael Schumacher (Ger) Ferrari 1:27:41.923
3 Jenson Button (Brit) BAR Honda 1:27:51.925
4 Alexander Wurz (Aut) McLaren Mercedes 1:28:08.926
5 Takuma Sato (Jpn) BAR Honda 1:28:15.928
6 Jacques Villeneuve (Can) Sauber Petronas 1:28:45.925
7 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:28:51.923
8 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) Williams BMW 1:28:52.923
9 Mark Webber (Aus) Williams BMW 1:29:04.923
10 Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) Red Bull 1:29:04.928
11 Ralf Schumacher (Ger) Toyota 1:28:51.929 (demoted from 8th)
12 Felipe Massa (Bra) Sauber Petronas 1 lap
13 David Coulthard (Brit) Red Bull 1 lap
14 Narain Karthikeyan (Ind) Jordan Toyota 1 lap
15 Tiago Monteiro (Por) Jordan Toyota 2 laps
NOT CLASSIFIED: Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Renault 5 laps, Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) McLaren Mercedes 9 laps, Patrick Friesacher (Ger) Minardi Cosworth 8 laps, Rubens Barrichello (Bra) 18 laps, Christijan Albers (Ned) Minardi Cosworth 20 laps
DRIVERS' CHAMPIONSHIP: 1 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 36pts, 2 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 18, 3 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Renault 10, 4 Michael Schumacher (Ger) Ferrari 10, 5 Ralf Schumacher (Ger) Toyota 10, 6 David Coulthard (Brit) Red Bull 9, 7 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Ferrari 8, 8 Juan Montoya (Col) McLaren Mercedes 8, 9 Mark Webber (Aus) Williams BMW 8, 10 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) McLaren Mercedes 7, 11 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) Williams BMW 6, 12 Jenson Button (Brit) BAR Honda 6, 13 Alexander Wurz (Aut) McLaren Mercedes 5, 14 Takuma Sato (Jpn) BAR Honda 4, 15 Jacques Villeneuve (Can) Sauber Petronas 3, 16 Pedro de la Rosa (Spa) McLaren Mercedes 3, 17 Christian Klien (Aut) Red Bull 3, 18 Felipe Massa (Bra) Sauber Petronas 2
MANUFACTURERS' CHAMPIONSHIP: 1 Renault 46, 2 Toyota 28, 3 McLaren Mercedes 23, 4 Ferrari 18, 5 Williams BMW 14, 6 Red Bull 12, 7 BAR Honda 10, 8 Sauber Petronas 5.
