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Michael Schumacher became only the second Formula1 driver in the history of the sport to take 6 consecutive wins, by romping home to victory in an incident filled Malaysian Grand Prix. He now shares the distinction with Alberto Ascari.

However, fortune changed dramatically for the scarlet cars: Schumacher having initially stormed off into a commanding lead but when torrential rain suddenly began to fall on lap 3 both leading Ferraris went off the track handing the lead to third placed Jarno Trulli.

A confused and lengthy pit stop from the Ferrari garage under the safety car eventually saw both Rubens Barrichello and Schumacher go back out on intermediate tyres whilst the majority took to the circuit took on full wets. This gave Schumacher the advantage he needed to regain the lead and take his 46th race victory.

Coulthard also spun in the first deluge but kept in contention, eventually taking third place at the end of the race. Heinz Harald Frentzen took 4th having fought the Dutchman Jos Verstappen for the position, with the Arrows finally succumbing to the need to stop for fuel in the closing stages.

Ralf Schumacher finished in fifth place after running strongly throughout the latter part of the race and Mika Hakkinen, also recovered from a difficult start, to finish with a single point.

There was controversy from the beginning of the race when the Benetton of Giancarlo Fisichella overshot his grid box following the formation lap - a basic error that will no doubt cause embarrassment to the team - and the race had to be restarted without actually having got underway.

This time Schumacher, driving in the spare car, made the perfect start, the Bridgestone clad Ferrari adopting its normal pattern of leaving all else in its wake. His younger brother, Ralf, got the drop on second-placed Barrichello as they entered the first turn but the Brazilian, in a similar scenario to the Australian Grand Prix, touched Schumacher's BMW WilliamsF1 sending the young German into a spin. He was lucky not to be hit again as the cars streamed by either side. The Jordan of Jarno Trulli was then able to take over the third slot, ahead of Coulthard who had made a good recovery from 8th place.

But within three laps it had started to rain. Commencing a dramatic chain of events, BAR driver, Olivier Panis, deposited oil on the track when his car developed an oil leak -this in turn caused both Ferraris to overshoot the apex at Turn Six almost in unison when they came round a lap later.

It was touch and go as to whether any of the cars would make it back to the pits when the heavens opened, such was the force of the rain. Trulli, having been given the lead, spun ahead of Coulthard who followed the young Italian into the gravel. With the safety car on track, both Ferraris pitted.

Barrichello, first in, was stationary for an agonising 70 seconds as mechanics expecting Schumacher in first scrambled about for the correct set of tyres. But it was a last minute decision to put both Ferraris on intermediate tyres rather than wets that won them the race. As Schumacher waited patiently behind his team mate the pit lane was filled with confusion as cars randomly came and went having changed to wet rubber, and as the rain tumbled it seemed a foolhardy choice indeed for the Maranello team.

The Ferraris rejoined in 10th and 11th place. With Coulthard having managed to pit immediately after his spin he found himself leading the race behind the safety car, followed by Frentzen and a burgeoning Jos Verstappen who had benefited from the confusion to rise to third place from his 18th position on the grid.

The Safety car went in at the end of the tenth lap and by lap 14 Michael Schumacher had reached the third slot, lapping some 4 and a half seconds faster than everyone such was the advantage of running with the intermediate tyres. Verstappen, meanwhile, was holding on to a well-deserved second behind Coulthard.

With lightning cracking over the pits it was only a matter of time before Schumacher passed Verstappen and Coulthard to regain the lead, quickly followed by his equally fleet team mate Barrichello into second.

The threatened rain held off and cars began to pit again for dry tyres, Hakkinen with little to lose, pitted first followed by Ralf Schumacher both rejoining the race in 5th and 12th places respectively. With rain beginning to fall again, only a lot lighter this time, and the top six separated by 26 seconds, skirmishes had begun to develop mid-field with Ralf Schumacher taking sixth place from Frentzen.

Coulthard eventually pitted for dry tyres, maintaining his track position, but such was the enormous lead that Schumacher had pulled out by his long stint on the intermediate rubber that he was able to pit 4 laps later with a lead of over a minute from his partner. His pit stop was leisurely and he rejoined with enough fuel to take him to the end of the race.

By lap 35 the race order had more or less been settled, Barrichello increasing his lead over Coulthard who in turn was being hunted down by the fastest man on the track, Ralf Schumacher. But the expected battle was not materialise as the BMW WilliamsF1 was forced to pit for fuel, dropping him down to 7th

Both Hakkinen and Barrichello regained their positions following their final stops but Verstappen, after driving so brilliantly, was eventually forced out of the points after his last stop, dropping him to 7th where he eventually finished - a place unworthy of the effort he had put into the race.

The final laps were highlighted by the battle for fifth place between Ralf Schumacher and Hakkinen, and the two cars circled for the final five laps nose to tail. Despite the power of the Mercedes it was the BMW which triumphed, the BMW WilliamsF1 crossing the line less than half a second ahead.

There still remains no match for the all conquering Ferrari and the outlook for healthy competition does not look good. The mid-field, however, now seems to be regrouping with BMW WilliamsF1 and Jordan emerging as strong contenders for the best of the rest slot. McLaren have asserted that they expect to be back at peak performance from the San Marino Grand Prix, and once they have achieved this the fight for the title is likely to hot up.