Down to the wire
 

[ALIGN=CENTER][ALIGN=CENTER][ALIGN=RIGHT][ALIGN=CENTER]SUZUKA, Japan (AP) -- Michael Schumacher will start from the seventh row and Kimi Raikkonen will be in the fourth when the two race for the Formula One title in the Japanese Grand Prix.

Schumacher leads Raikkonen 92-83 in the overall standings and will be bidding for a sixth world driving title Sunday.

The only way the German can lose the title is if Raikkonen wins the race and Schumacher fails to score a point -- either by not finishing or finishing worse than eighth.

"Raikkonen's situation is difficult because he has to stay out of trouble," Schumacher said.

Schumacher has won the Japanese Grand Prix five times and come in second three times. He is seeking his fourth consecutive Formula One title with Ferrari. He also won with Benetton in 1994 and 1995.

Raikkonen finished well ahead of Schumacher in Saturday's qualifying. Raikkonen, in a McLaren Mercedes, finished eighth in 1 minute, 33.272 seconds. Schumacher's Ferrari was 14th in 1:34.302.

Rubens Barrichello, Schumacher's Ferrari teammate, won his ninth pole, finishing in 1:31.713. A sudden rain shower affected the qualifying.

"Track conditions were inconsistent," Schumacher said. "The session could have been much worse for me, and I think Kimi was also affected by the rain."

Juan Pablo Montoya of Colombia finished second in 1:32.412 and Cristiano Da Matta of Brazil was third in 1:32.419.

JAPANESE GRAND PRIX LINEUP

Pl. Driver Country Car Time

1 Rubens Barrichello Brazil Ferrari 1:31.713
2 Juan Pablo Montoya Colombia Williams-BMW 1:32.412
3 Cristiano da Matta Brazil Toyota 1:32.419
4 Olivier Panis France Toyota 1:32.862
5 Fernando Alonso Spain Renault 1:33.044
6 Mark Webber Australia Jaguar 1:33.106
7 David Coulthard Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1:33.137
8 Kimi Raikkonen Finland McLaren-Mercedes 1:33.272
9 Jenson Button Britain BAR-Honda 1:33.474
10 Justin Wilson Britain Jaguar 1:33.558
11 Nick Heidfeld Germany Sauber-Petronas 1:33.632
12 Heinz-Harald Frentzen Germany Sauber-Petronas 1:33.896
13 Takuma Sato Japan BAR-Honda 1:33.924
14 Michael Schumacher Germany Ferrari 1:34.302
15 Ralph Firman Britain Jordan-Ford 1:34.771
16 Giancarlo Fisichella Italy Jordan-Ford 1:34.912
17 Jos Verstappen Netherlands Minardi-Cosworth 1:34.975
18 Nicolas Kiesa Denmark Minardi-Cosworth 1:37.226
19 Ralf Schumacher Germany Williams-BMW no time
19 Jarno Trulli Italy Renault no time

SUZUKA, Japan (AP) -- Michael Schumacher won a record sixth world title Sunday, and this one had an odd feel. He clinched the championship by finishing eighth in the Japanese Grand Prix.

The German held off Kimi Raikkonen for the title, getting a big lift from Ferrari teammate Rubens Barrichello. The Brazilian won the season-ending race ahead of Raikkonen, Schumacher's closest rival.

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Japanese Grand Prix 2003 Results
Race

Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Points

1 2 Rubens Barrichello Ferrari 53 1:25:11.743 1 10

2 6 Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes 53 +11.0 secs 8 8

3 5 David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes 53 +11.6 secs 7 6

4 17 Jenson Button BAR-Honda 53 +33.1 secs 9 5

5 7 Jarno Trulli Renault 53 +34.2 secs 20 4

6 16 Takuma Sato BAR-Honda 53 +51.6 secs 13 3

7 21 Cristiano da Matta Toyota 53 +56.7 secs 3 2

8 1 Michael Schumacher Ferrari 53 +59.4 secs 14 1
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Top 10 Constructors' Championship 2003

Pos Constructor Points

1 Ferrari 158


2 Williams-BMW 144


3 McLaren-Mercedes 142


4 Renault 88


5 BAR-Honda 26


6 Sauber-Petronas 19


7 Jaguar -Cosworth 18


8 Toyota 16


9 Jordan-Ford 13


10 Minardi-Cosworth 0

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Drivers' Championship 2003

Pos Driver Nationality Team Points


1 Michael Schumacher German Ferrari 93

2 Kimi Räikkönen Finnish McLaren-Mercedes 91

3 Juan Pablo Montoya Colombian Williams-BMW 82

4 Rubens Barrichello Brazilian Ferrari 65

5 Ralf Schumacher German Williams-BMW 58

6 Fernando Alonso Spanish Renault 55

7 David Coulthard British McLaren-Mercedes 51

8 Jarno Trulli Italian Renault 33

9 Jenson Button British BAR-Honda 17

10 Mark Webber Australian Jaguar -Cosworth 17

11 Heinz-Harald Frentzen German Sauber-Petronas 13

12 Giancarlo Fisichella Italian Jordan-Ford 12

13 Cristiano da Matta Brazilian Toyota 10

14 Nick Heidfeld German Sauber-Petronas 6

15 Olivier Panis French Toyota 6

16 Jacques Villeneuve Canadian BAR-Honda 6

17 Marc Gene Spanish Williams-BMW 4

18 Takuma Sato Japanese BAR-Honda 3

19 Ralph Firman British Jordan-Ford 1

20 Justin Wilson British Jaguar -Cosworth 1