Last Sunday's Italian Grand Prix left a feeling of deja vu in almost everyone who remembered the 2000 Monza race where, after a couple of poor performances, Michael Schumacher rose to the Challenge and scored a crucial win for his Championship hopes. Atlas F1's Richard Barnes reviews how the German managed to do it again and what effect will have in the title race

The run-up to Sunday's Italian Grand Prix posed the inevitable questions about whether Ferrari's Michael Schumacher could repeat his championship-turning Monza victory of 2000. Three years ago, Schumacher had arrived at Monza in the midst of a personal and team crisis. After holding a comfortable Championship lead right from the season opener in Australia, Schumacher had suffered an alarming slump that saw McLaren arch-rival Mika Hakkinen turn a 24-point mid-season deficit into a six-point lead after the Belgian Grand Prix at Schumacher's favoured Spa-Francorchamps circuit.

Schumacher delivered against expectations, holding off Hakkinen narrowly for the duration of a tense and evenly matched race, ending the slump and setting him up for his long-awaited first WDC title in a Ferrari. The victory also marked an important and emotional milestone in Schumacher's career. It was his 41st Grand Prix victory, equalling the mark set by the late Ayrton Senna.

On Sunday, Schumacher was again asked to deliver against the expectations of most. And again he produced in front of the tifosi, with a victory that was almost a carbon copy of the 2000 race. Schumacher again started from pole position, again pitted a few laps before his main rival, and again essentially led from start to finish, barring the few laps between his and his main rival's pitstops. The Italian victory marked yet another milestone in the Schumacher career - his 50th victory for Ferrari, only one short of previous record holder Alain Prost's combined career total with four top manufacturers Renault, McLaren, Ferrari and Williams.

However, that is where the similarities end. In 2000, Schumacher's mid-season woes were the result of poor reliability and first corner accidents. Without these misfortunes, Schumacher was almost guaranteed a top two finish, with only Hakkinen showing the speed to beat him with any degree of consistency. This year, Ferrari have had to accept that their mechanical advantage of the past two seasons has been negated by a resurgent Williams. And, on the tighter and higher downforce circuits, by McLaren and Renault too.

Going into the Monza weekend, Schumacher's own form had also been questionable. For the first time in his Ferrari career, the German had been outqualified (and usually outraced) by his teammate for three successive Grands Prix, and hadn't led a single lap in any race since the Canadian victory in mid-June. Every year, there is a three-month period during which Michael Schumacher neither wins nor even leads a Grand Prix. Usually, though, this period is called the off-season. It's unprecedented to witness it happening during the height of a close-fought Championship challenge.

Schumacher's Monza victory may have rejuvenated the German's hopes of another WDC title, just as it did in 2000. Although again, the similarities between the two situations end once we look beyond the statistical commonality. Under the old points system in 2000, the Championship was always going to be settled by race victories, so each Grand Prix turned into a one-on-one slugfest for the ten-point prize.

Under the new points system, Prost-like consistency has become the key. In 2000, Hakkinen's engine failure at Indianapolis helped to seal the Championship as much as any individual brilliance from Schumacher. This year, the German dare not hope for such good fortune. Solid reliability has been a key Ferrari advantage during the Schumacher era. It didn't take Williams long to catch on and shut down that loophole. After a shaky start to the season, Montoya has recorded eight straight podium finishes, and the stablemate Williams of Ralf Schumacher hasn't suffered a mechanical failure all season. If there's one thing Schumacher can count on, it's that both Williams cars will make it to the finish at both Indianapolis and Suzuka. There will be no more free lunches, in the form of rival retirements, for Schumacher and Ferrari. This is one Championship they'll have to win the hard way - by beating their rivals on the track.

Michael Schumacher knows that, and Juan Pablo Montoya knows it too. Montoya's passive acceptance of second position at Monza raised some eyebrows and questions about whether the Colombian is losing his aggressive nature and fighting spirit. There was nothing wrong with Montoya's approach. Even without the problems lapping backmarkers, Montoya lacked the straightline speed to mount a serious passing attempt against the Ferrari. The smart move was to tap off, ensure at least eight points for second, and wait for a more opportune moment to seize the Championship initiative.

It's the type of driving that epitomised Alain Prost's approach. Montoya has shown himself to be an exceptionally quick learner and, if he was going to adopt one driver as a role model, Prost is an excellent choice. After less than three years in F1, Montoya is already showing maturity well beyond his level of experience. An intelligent driver thinks ahead, to the end of the race. Montoya went beyond that by a full two weeks, to the next GP in America.

Indianapolis will favour the Williams, and Montoya is clearly banking on a Williams 1-2 finish in America. If that goal is realised, then Montoya will lead Schumacher by at least one point going into the season finale at Suzuka, irrespective of where Schumacher finishes at Indianapolis. While the Colombian has made light-hearted comments about the possibility of the two drivers colliding, the jokes belie a serious concern. And it's not just about Schumacher's history of Championship-deciding collisions. Unintentional contact is an occupational hazard, particularly in the scramble to the first corner. Ralf, Rubens Barrichello and Kimi Raikkonen need no reminders of that, and there are no guarantees that it couldn't happen again at Suzuka.

However, the possibility does seem extremely unlikely. With McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen still lurking within Championship reach, any contact between Schumacher and Montoya would be disastrous for both. At Monza, they proved that they can go wheel to wheel without taking undue risks. If anything, they'll be even more cautious during the final two races.

That is bad news for Raikkonen. After twice suffering from race-ending first lap shunts this season, the young Finn is entitled to expect at least one similar misfortune to befall his Championship rivals. Indeed, that appears to be his only remaining Championship hope. Although, even if the breaks don't ultimately go his way, Raikkonen's excellent performances have placed him in the 'champion in waiting' class along with Renault's Fernando Alonso.

With David Coulthard and Rubens Barrichello unable to consistently challenge the frontrunners, that leaves Ralf Schumacher as the most important Championship variable. If the younger Schumacher returns as expected at Indianapolis, the American GP will be the most trying race of his career. Ralf is the ultimate momentum driver. When things are going his way, he is often unstoppable. When he loses momentum, he can be listless and uninspired.

Ralf's earlier momentum, exemplified by his flawless victories in France and Europe, has been broken by his testing injury and subsequent withdrawal from the Monza weekend. At Indianapolis, not only will he have to cope with the twin setbacks of recovering from injury and seeing a legitimate title challenge slip away from him. Williams will also be expecting him to perform to the highest level, for the sake of teammate Montoya and the Constructors' Championship. If he fails to meet expectations, it will inevitably launch muttered allegations that he deliberately under-performed to help his older brother.

Such allegations may be unfair, but then so is F1. Although, even in an unfair sport, the top drivers somehow contrive to manufacture their own luck. By 2003's lofty standards, the Italian Grand Prix was a surprisingly uneventful affair, with the fastest race in history failing to produce a single memorable and successful passing attempt. In the context of the season, that doesn't matter. Schumacher, Montoya and Raikkonen have turned the battle into a tense and utterly absorbing chess match.

That is partly due to the new rules format, but Schumacher himself must also take credit. His insistence on the importance of reliability combined with his methodical and tactical approach, not only to individual races but to the entire Championship campaign, have rubbed off on his main rivals. Even if the German doesn't manage to repeat his stunning endgame of 2000, he will draw satisfaction from the fact that his successor has emulated his winning approach.