Schumacher cuts the gap to 11 

HOCKENHEIM, Germany – Michael Schumacher won the German Grand Prix on Sunday to capture his third straight Formula One race and close in on points leader Fernando Alonso.

The seven-time champion took the lead on Lap 10 when pole sitter Kimi Raikkonen had to make an early pit stop.

From then on, Schumacher cruised in what could have been his final race at home.

"We had a superb weekend," Schumacher said.

Alonso, the defending series champion, finished fifth in the 67-lap race and now holds an 11-point lead over Schumacher, who began the day 17 points behind.

"We are going to try to close the gap further as quickly as possible," Schumacher said.

Australia's Mark Webber failed to finish the race, as Italy's Giancarlo Fisichella, Jarno Trulli and Vitantonio Liuzzi all finished 6th 7th and 10th respectively. The Red Bull Ferrari team claimed 8th place (Christian Klein) and 11th place (David Coulthard).

Schumacher, already Formula One’s most successful driver, won his 89th Grand Prix and his fourth at Hockenheim.

He has delayed a decision on his future until September and if the Ferrari driver decides to retire, this would have been his final race at home.

There are six races left in the 18-race season. A victory is worth 10 points.

Schumacher now has five wins this season, while Alonso has six.

Alonso matched his season’s worst finish by coming in fifth. The Renault driver also has four second places this year.

With Felipe Massa coming in second, Ferrari went 1-2 for the second time this season.

"That was our target today," the Brazilian said.

Raikkonen finished third in his McLaren-Mercedes, with Jenson Button fourth in a Honda.

Alonso started the race in seventh place in a disappointing weekend. He jumped to fifth after a fast start, but that’s as far up the field as he got, except for a brief spell in fourth early in the race.

Raikkonen was leading Schumacher comfortably when he made a long pit stop in the 10th lap with appeared to be a problem with his right rear wheel.

"We had some problems yesterday in qualifying and we didn’t have enough fuel and there was also a hydraulic problem in the car," Raikkonen said. "Looking at all those things, we are happy to finish third."

Schumacher never lost the lead again.

Alonso made his second pit stop on lap 44, Schumacher one lap later. When they came out again, Schumacher was 46.5 seconds ahead of Alonso, who was then trailing in eighth but fought back to fifth.

The Spaniard skidded into the gravel five laps before the end but it did not affect his placing.

The two Ferraris, holding a big lead in the front, then began easing off on the gas pedal to preserve engines on a hot, muggy day. The temperature of the track was 51 degrees C (123 degrees F) at the start of the race.

Schumacher finished the 67 laps, a race distance of 306.548 kilometers (190.433 miles), 0.7 seconds ahead of Massa and 13.2 ahead of Raikkonen.

 Grand Prix of Germany at Hockenheim (Hockenheim) on Sunday                     

  1.  Michael Schumacher (Germany)     Ferrari                1:27:51.693
  2.  Felipe Massa (Brazil)            Ferrari                 +00:00.720
  3.  Kimi Raikkonen (Finland)         McLaren                  00:13.206
  4.  Jenson Button (Britain)          Honda                    00:18.898
  5.  Fernando Alonso (Spain)          Renault                  00:23.707
  6.  Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy)     Renault                  00:24.814
  7.  Jarno Trulli (Italy)             Toyota                   00:26.544
  8.  Christian Klien (Austria)        RedBull - Ferrari        00:48.131
  9.  Ralf Schumacher (Germany)        Toyota                   01:00.351
10.  Vitantonio Liuzzi (Italy)        Toro Rosso - Cosworth        1 lap
11.  David Coulthard (Britain)        RedBull - Ferrari            1 lap
12.  Scott Speed (U.S.)               Toro Rosso - Cosworth        1 lap
13.  Christijan Albers (Netherlands)  MF1 - Toyota                 1 lap
14.  Tiago Monteiro (Portugal)        MF1 - Toyota                2 laps
r.   Mark Webber (Australia)          Williams - Cosworth         8 laps
r.   Takuma Sato (Japan)              Super Aguri - Honda        29 laps
r.   Jacques Villeneuve (Canada)      BMW Sauber                 37 laps
r.   Rubens Barrichello (Brazil)      Honda                      49 laps
r.   Nick Heidfeld (Germany)          BMW Sauber                 58 laps
r.   Pedro de la Rosa (Spain)         McLaren                    65 laps
r.   Sakon Yamamoto (Japan)           Super Aguri - Honda        66 laps
r.   Nico Rosberg (Germany)           Williams - Cosworth        67 laps                                 

                                            
(rank: r = retired, nc = not classified)      

Fastest Lap: Michael Schumacher, 1:16.357, lap 17.

(mercurynews.com)