Schumacher Clinches Title

Michael Schumacher even sets records by finishing second.

He was runner-up to Kimi Raikkonen in the Belgian Grand Prix on the hilly Spa-Francorchamps course, only the second time in 14 races this season that Schumacher did not win.

But the German scored enough points to clinch an unprecedented seventh Formula One drivers’ title.

The long-anticipated outcome to the most lopsided season in Formula One history came where Schumacher debuted 13 years ago, and won his first race a year later. He has a record 82 victories.

A win at Spa would have been his seventh, which would have gone nicely with his seventh series title and Ferrari’s 700th race in Formula One.

Instead, he finished 3.1 seconds behind Raikkonen in a race scattered with accidents and made close as the safety car came out three times. Schumacher’s Ferrari teammate Rubens Barrichello was third.

“I would have rather taken the championship with a victory,� Schumacher said. “But today we simply weren’t strong enough in the right moments. We have won so many races this year, it was clear at some stage somebody else would win.�

Raikkonen’s winning time over the 4.3-mile circuit was 1 hour 32 minutes 35.274 seconds, an average speed of 123.589 mph.

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Bruno Junqueira, who has raced in the shadow of Newman/Haas Racing teammate Sebastien Bourdais all season, stayed out of trouble and won the Montreal Molson Indy race.

The victory by the two-time Champ Car series runner-up, combined with Bourdais’ 15th-place finish, put some life back into a championship race that appeared all but over when Bourdais won his sixth pole of the year and went into the race leading Junqueira by 58 points.

Local favorite Patrick Carpentier wound up second, crossing the finish line 6.382 seconds behind Junqueira. Third went to Mario Dominguez, who overcame an airgun failure in the pits that cost him nearly 30 seconds. Defending series champion Paul Tracy was fourth.

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Dan Wheldon took advantage of a fiery mishap during a pit stop in the Firestone Indy 225 by leader Sam Hornish Jr. and extended Honda’s winning streak to 12 races with a victory in the last race at Nazareth Speedway in Pennsylvania.

It was an emotional victory for car owner Michael Andretti, a lifelong resident of this Lehigh Valley village who won the first race at the track in 1987. Wheldon beat teammate Tony Kanaan, the IRL points leader, by 3.6 seconds. The victory moved Wheldon within 72 points of Kanaan with three races remaining.

Dario Franchitti, a winner last week at Pikes Peak International Raceway, made it a top-three sweep for Andretti Green Racing -- the first in IRL history.

Tennis

Australian Lleyton Hewitt tuned up for the U.S. Open by defeating Luis Horna of Peru, 6-3, 6-1, in the TD Waterhouse Cup final at Commack, N.Y., for his second consecutive ATP tournament title.

The second-seeded Hewitt won 20 of 22 first-serve points. Horna, seeded ninth and seeking his first ATP title, committed 32 unforced errors.

Hewitt, the 2001 U.S. Open champion, closed the match with his 12th ace.

Soccer

Former MetroStar midfielder Ross Paule scored on a penalty kick in the 33rd minute, lifting the Columbus Crew to a 1-1 tie with the MetroStars in an Major League Soccer game at East Rutherford, N.J.

The MetroStars (9-8-6) maintained their two-point advantage over the Crew (7-5-10) in the Eastern Conference standings.

The MetroStars took a 1-0 lead on a rebound goal by John Wolyniec, his seventh of the season.

Michael Owen made a successful debut for Real Madrid, setting up a second-half goal by Ronaldo in a 1-0 victory at Mallorca in a Spanish league opener.... Midfielder Alan Thompson scored in the 85th minute to give defending Scottish league champion Celtic a 1-0 victory over cross-town rival Rangers in Glasgow. It was Celtic’s seventh consecutive victory in the “Old Firm� derby.... Portuguese midfielder Jose Luis Vidigal scored two goals and Serie A newcomer Livorno beat Arezzo, 3-2, to advance into the second round of the Italian Cup.