Highlights

Schumacher wins European GP over Alonso

(AP)
Updated: 2006-05-08 08:54

NUERBURGRING, Germany_ Michael Schumacher wasn't surprised he won his second straight Formula One race after taking out the European Grand Prix for the sixth time on Sunday.

	Ferrari's Michael Schumacher of Germany celebrates winning the European Formula One Grand Prix at the Nuerburgring. [Reuters]

Schumacher, who also relegated F1 champion Fernando Alonso to runner-up at Nuerburgring like he did at San Marino GP two weeks ago, felt Ferrari's earlier performances in the season weren't accurate.

"I thought we looked good already at the first race, honestly, so it's not a surprise," Schumacher said. "We had the package available. We didn't make use of it all the time."

The seven-time world champion raised his finger as he crossed the line almost four seconds ahead to win the European GP in his home country for the fifth time. He also won it when it was in Spain in 1994.

It was Schumacher's 86th career victory.

It didn't look good for Schumacher earlier in the season. After a second in Bahrain, he was sixth in Malaysia and then crashed in Australia.

"If you finish first, what can you say?" Schumacher said. "That way it makes everybody happy who wants to see us winning."

He overtook Alonso on the second pit stop.

"I felt we had a good strategy," he said. "I knew we had a good race pace on new tires. I knew we could push and it all worked out."

Alonso, who won the title last year, started the race from the pole, the first time he has done so this season. Schumacher started second.

"It was impossible to stay ahead of them for 60 laps," Alonso said.

Felipe Massa, Schumacher's Ferrari teammate, was third on Nuerburgring's 5.148-kilometer (3.2-mile) course, ahead of Kimi Raikkonen of McLaren-Mercedes.