Silver arrow hits Prancing Stallion

The champions remained defiant, but there was no ignoring a sensation that Formula One8217;s jackals were circling overhead after Sunday1...

The champions remained defiant, but there was no ignoring a sensation that Formula One8217;s jackals were circling overhead after Sunday8217;s Spanish Grand Prix.

Defending drivers8217; world champion Michael Schumacher and his Ferrari team chief Jean Todt roared back and bristled with self-belief, but after failing to take a point on another near-disastrous afternoon, the team of the prancing stallion had lost much of its vim.

Kimi Raikkonen8217;s victory was not only good for McLaren, it was also a signal that the 8216;silver arrows8217; are on their way back in the title race 8211; and, with Renault and the new Spanish hero Fernando Alonso in masterful form, the Red Baron8217;s Ferrari era is over.

Even Schumacher admitted as much after he had been forced to retire after suffering two punctures while he was heading towards a possible third place.

Asked if he could still fight to hang on to his champion8217;s crown, a title held by nobody else since 1999, the 36-year-old German admitted it was slipping from his grasp.

8220;No question,8221; he said.

8220;It is moving more and more away, but it is not that far away that we have got to give it up, we will keep on working and keep on fighting. It is not over.

8220;I don8217;t need very long to find new motivation and new freshness. We will work and work before the next race in Monaco. We are becoming more free because we don8217;t have anything to lose. We can do more things.8221;

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Todt, who saw Schumacher experience defeat at Barcelona for the first time since his old rival Mika Hakkinen won the third of his three successive triumphs in 2000, was just as defiant.

8220;We knew this would be a difficult race, but it turned out to be tougher than expected.

8220;We have to accept that in this first part of the season, our opponents are stronger than us. But we will not get discouraged and we will absolutely not give up.

8220;We will tackle the rest of this championship with the same will and determination that has characterised our approach for so many years.8221;

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Renault lead the constructors8217; championship with 58 points ahead of Toyota on 40, that McLaren are third on 37 and Williams fourth on 21.

Ferrari lie a distant fifth with 18 points, only four more than Red Bull, a fledgling team built out of the remnants of the Jaguar operation sold off by Ford last winter.