Schumacher wins 6th European Grand Prix

NUERBURGRING, Germany --Michael Schumacher won the European Grand Prix for the sixth time Sunday with his second consecutive Formula One victory -- all of which makes perfect sense to the seven-time world champion.

Schumacher, who left champion Fernando Alonso the runner-up for the second race in a row, felt Ferrari's earlier performances this season did not reflect the team's strength.

"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."

He raised his finger as he crossed the line almost four seconds ahead of Alonso. He led by nearly six seconds entering the last lap.

Schumacher, racing in his home country, has won the European GP five times at Nuerburgring and in Spain in 1994. This was his 86th career victory.

It didn't look good for Schumacher earlier in the season. After second place in Bahrain, he was sixth in Malaysia and then crashed in Australia. Two weeks ago, Schumacher won the San Marino Grand Prix from the pole.

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

On Sunday, he overtook Alonso on the second pit stop after the 42nd lap of the 60-lap race.

"I felt we had a good strategy," Schumacher 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.

Felipe Massa, Schumacher's Ferrari teammate, was third on the 3.2-mile course, ahead of Kimi Raikkonen of McLaren-Mercedes. The four were far ahead of the rest of the field. Rubens Barrichello of Honda finished in fifth, nearly a lap behind.

Last year, Schumacher had only a tainted triumph over a depleted field because of a tire dispute at the U.S. Grand Prix. He struggled while Alonso became the youngest driver to win the F1 title.

This season, Alonso leads the driver standings with 44 points after his third second-place finish of the season. Schumacher is second with 31 points. The next race is the Spanish Grand Prix on May 14.

"Second place is a fantastic result for us," Alonso said. "We were a little bit down compared to Ferrari's performance this weekend. To get the eight points means everything is OK and means we should win again."

Massa was happy with third place.

"It was a great result for us, especially my first podium," Massa said. "I think it was a great result helping out for the championship."

Alonso led the first 17 laps while Schumacher stayed about a second behind, with Massa also within striking distance. After 25 laps, Raikkonen pitted. Alonso was now two seconds ahead of Schumacher with Massa and Raikkonen following.

Alonso stopped on the 39th lap for fuel and tires. This time, Schumacher stayed out for two more laps, with nearly an empty fuel tank. He gained enough of a gap to pit on the 41st lap and come out well ahead of Alonso.

With 10 laps to go, the lead was up to nearly nine seconds over Alonso with Massa back in third. Raikkonen was next, and the rest of the field was nearly a lap behind.

Giancarlo Fisichella of Reanult, who won the second race of the season, finished sixth after starting from 11th. He was impeded by Jacques Villeneuve of BMW-Sauber during qualifying Saturday, resulting in a penalty to Villeneuve. Villeneuve, starting ninth, was eighth, behind Nico Rosberg of Williams.