Schumacher and failure are 6,400 km apart

Michael Schumacher has come a long way since he last failed to finish a Formula One Grand Prix.

Twenty one races, and 6,401.218 kilometres of race laps, stand between Ferrari's five-times world champion and last year's German Grand Prix where he was forced to pull over with a fuel pressure problem.

If he finishes Sunday's season-ending Japanese Grand Prix, and it will be unusual if he does not given the remarkable reliability of his Ferrari, he will add another 308.317 km to the tally -- making the total equal the distance from New Delhi to London.

Formula One fans have long ceased to be amazed by Schumacher's amazing record collection but his ability to eat up the distance for race after race without any of the mechanical gremlins suffered by others stands out.

While his Brazilian team mate Rubens Barrichello has twice failed to start this season and three times failed to finish, the German has simply sailed on untroubled.

Luck may play a part, just as misfortune has plagued Barrichello, but there are clearly other key factors at play such as having a dominant car and the ability to caress it with smooth driving for lap after lap.

The rewards have been reaped this season in a championship that has brought Schumacher a cascade of records and Ferrari a year of unprecedented success.

PODIUM SWEEP

If Schumacher or Barrichello finish on the podium on Sunday, it will be the 53rd race in a row in which a Ferrari driver has stood among the top three.

Schumacher will become the first driver to finish an entire season on the podium, chalking up his 19th podium place in succession and his 22nd race in a row in the points.

The previous record of 16 races in a row in the points, set by Argentine Carlos Reutemann in 1980-81 with Williams, was left behind in France in July.

The same month, Schumacher claimed a record 108th career podium -- since stretched to 114.

The German this season also equalled the late Briton Jim Clark's record of 11 hat-tricks -- pole, fastest lap and victory -- and took a record 50th fastest lap.

He has won, and started on pole, at every circuit on the calendar and gone one step further than Briton Nigel Mansell in becoming the first driver to win 10 races in a single season.

Schumacher made clear on Thursday that he intends to round out the year with 11.

Having been gifted a win by Barrichello in Austria, he repaid the favour in America two weeks ago and now feels clear to go for victory on Sunday without any team tactics or strategic considerations.

"Here, we are completely open. Rubens has secured his second place in the championship. I have given back what I received from him in Austria.

"We can just look at the event and go flat out," said Schumacher, who secured his record-equalling fifth championship faster than any other driver in the history of the sport -- with six races to spare.

"I am here now to increase the number (of wins)."

POINTS TALLY

If Schumacher is successful, he will take his season's points tally to 144, having already broken his own previous record of 123 set last year, and his number of career victories to an unmatched 64.

His total career points tally of 935 is another record waiting to be expanded further.

Ferrari, who have a record 205 points so far this season in the constructors' championship, can push that milestone further into uncharted territory.

The Italian team are also set to equal McLaren's landmark haul of 15 wins in the 1988 season when Frenchman Alain Prost partnered Brazilian Ayrton Senna.

No Ferrari driver since the first grand prix in 1950 has come close to Schumacher's success with the team. He has 44 wins under the sign of the prancing horse, compared to three-times champion Niki Lauda's meagre haul of 15.

Despite the mathematical overload, Schumacher is adamant that records and statistics mean little to him while he is still racing.

But he loves winning, rejecting suggestions that Ferrari's domination is boring.

"You have a different level of excitement but this is life," he said when asked on Thursday whether the racing still gave him a thrill with the title won.

"I definitely do enjoy races and the victories I have had after (securing) the championship, like at Spa. So I look forward to having another one here.

"I didn't think it was boring in '98 when Mika (Hakkinen) was winning a lot of races too. It's part of the game and it's up to the others to improve. It's not our fault."

As Schumacher said at the start of the season in Melbourne: "There is no other team that raises the emotions like Ferrari. To win with them is extraordinary."