SCHUEY HEADS FOR DOUBLE CENTURY

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From ITV-F1.com:

SCHUEY HEADS FOR DOUBLE CENTURY

Last Updated: Tuesday, 04 May , 2004, 15:22

Michael Schumacher will compete in his 200th grand prix at Barcelona this weekend.

The world chanpion becomes only the seventh driver to clock up a double century of F1 appearances.

Asked how he felt about the milestone, Schumacher said: “I was amazed more than anything. It was odd that the first figure was a ‘two’: 200.

“I’ve been in F1 so long that it felt as though I have had many more races. I thought that the figure would have been much higher…maybe it’s better not to speak in figures.”

As usual, Schumacher is very matter-of-fact about chalking up yet another piece of F1 history.

He laughed: “And why not? Maybe you expected me to say how old I felt? Well, in all honesty I don’t feel a day older than twenty!”

Asked which race win he treasured more than most, Schumacher said: ‘I always have difficulty responding to such direct questions - questions that don’t take into account a series of factors.

“It’s a bit like the questions everybody always asks me, like which world title is most special to me; they are all special for their own particular reasons. I can’t classify them and I don’t want to. And this goes for the single races too!

“If I have to choose one, I would go for Suzuka 2000 because the battle with Mika was so competitive, because our respective teams were the best, and because the end of the season is always exciting.

“Also, my first world title with Ferrari was indescribable and long-awaited.”

Although the Spanish Grand Prix represents Schumacher’s 200th appearance, it will not be his 200th start – he retired on the warm-up lap of the 1996 French GP with a piston failure.

Schumacher still has a long way to go if he wants to beat Ricardo Patrese’s all-time record of 256 events.

The full list of drivers to have clocked up 200 F1 appearances is Patrese, Gerhard Berger, Andrea de Cesaris, Nelson Piquet, Jean Alesi and Alain Prost.

The next F1 driver to join the 200 club should be Schumacher’s Ferrari team-mate Rubens Barrichello. The Brazilian currently has 183 races to his name.