Michael Schumacher's chances of winning the World Championship were virtually over, when he stalled his Ferrari engine at the second start of yesterday's Japanese Grand Prix. Later on it was revealed, that his engine stalled due to overheat in the car, which caused a hydraulics problem in the clutch. Furthermore, it seems that the Ferrari crew are at fault here, having attended Schumacher's car too late when the first start was aborted.

Mika Hakkinen, whose McLaren mechanics were quick to push dry ice into his car's sidepods, said: "I wondered where Michael's mechanics were because they seemed slow and the cars get really hot out there. You can feel the heat off the engine in the cockpit."

The Ferrari team made no comment about this as yet.