THEY could have billed the San Marino Grand Prix as: Imola, the Revenge. The script for an epic battle yesterday between the two undisputed stars of Formula One was so reminiscent of their confrontation at the venue a year ago, it was eerie.

Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso had slugged it out for bragging rights around this dishevelled but atmospheric circuit last season as the Spaniard deposed the German, eventually to take possession of a world title that had seemed a permanent fixture in the Ferrari camp.

In the sequel, though, it was Schumacher, 37, who could have borrowed the words of Arnold Schwarzenegger to warn Alonso: “He’s back”, as he powered to a sensational victory. If Schumacher has anything to do with it, Alonso’s reign as champion, is going to be swiftly terminated.

All the pair could offer Jenson Button was a walk-on part as court jester as the Englishman found himself at the centre of yet another calamity. This time, he started second on the grid and looked a certainty for third place — until his team contrived to put on a short comedy sketch that took him out of the reckoning. He had gone into the pits for a second fuel and tyres stop knowing that he just had to stay out of trouble to take a second podium finish of the season.

But Alistair Gibson, Honda’s chief mechanic and veteran of more than 300 pitstops, had one of those senior moments that affect us all. In his case, though, his misreading of the situation was on display to millions. Gibson thought that the fuel man was pulling the nozzle clear of the car and lifted his warning lollipop to signal Button to go, but he was hopelessly premature.

A Formula One car driven by a highly tuned young man fires away like a bullet and Button was off, dragging the fuel hose behind him. A panic-stricken Gibson seemed to swat Button’s helmet with his lollipop, almost as though he was trying to hold him back, but it was too late. Two mechanics were bowled over, one drenched in petrol, but, happily, there were no serious injuries. “There were only bruised egos,” according to Nick Fry, the Honda team principal.

Actually, the biggest bruising was to Button’s expectations as he was forced to stop in the pitlane while mechanics chased behind him to extract the fractured fuel nozzle. Add this to a jammed rear wheel nut at his first pitstop and Button lost about 20 seconds. From expecting to be showered in champagne alongside Schumacher and Alonso, he found himself drowning his sorrows with a cup of tea.

The inquest starts today and Button is likely to have some strident opinions to put to his team, for their record in transforming his qualifying performances — the best in Formula One this season with a third, second, pole and second place — is now close to appalling.

How he must have looked with envy at Ferrari and Renault, who not only know how to qualify a car, but how to win, although it seemed for a while that Ferrari had lost the knack while running up a 23-race sequence stretching back to 2004 that contained only one victory for Schumacher — and that the farce of the US Grand Prix when only six cars took part.

Yesterday was vintage Schumacher. Despite being harried for lap after lap by the youngest champion in Formula One history, he never put a foot wrong.

“It was impossible to overtake unless Michael made a mistake and he didn’t make any,” Alonso, 24, said. “With five laps to go, we turned up the revs on the engine to have a last attempt, but even then I couldn’t get near him.” If Alonso could not get near Schumacher, most drivers were trying to avoid the hapless Yuji Ide. Button had contended that the Japanese driver’s inexperience — he joined Super Aguri as a rookie at the age of 31 — could spell danger and yesterday he proved the point in spectacular, and potentially horrifying, style. Ide, as usual, was bringing up the rear when he inexplicably ploughed into the back of Christjan Albers’s Midland. Albers took off and barrel-rolled six times before landing upside down in the gravel. Fortunately, he was not hurt, but race stewards were looking at the incident last night with a view to punishing Ide.

They might not need to bother. Ide is unlikely to be in Germany at the next race in a fortnight. One extra who will not get to take part in any sequel.

RESULT

1, M Schumacher (Ger, Ferrari) 1hr 31min 6.486sec; 2, F Alonso (Sp, Renault) 1:31:08.582; 3, J P Montoya (Col, McLaren-Mercedes) 1:31:22.354; 4, F Massa (Br, Ferrari) 1:31:23.582; 5, K Räikkönen (Fin, McLaren-Mercedes) 1:31:23.582; 6, M Webber (Aus, Williams-Cosworth) 1:31:06.486; 7, J Button (GB, Honda) 1:31:45.492; 8, G Fisichella (It, Renault) 1:31:46.488; 9, R Schumacher (Ger, Toyota) 1:31:06.486; 10, R Barrichello (Br, Honda) 1:32:23.566; 11, N Rosberg (Ger, Williams-Cosworth) 1:32:25.546; 12, J Villeneuve (Can , BMW Sauber) 1:32:28.516; 13, N Heidfeld (Ger, BMW Sauber) at 1 lap behind; 14, V Liuzzi (It, Scuderia Toro Rosso) 1 lap; 15, S Speed (US, Scuderia Toro Rosso) 1 lap; 16, T Monteiro (Por, Midland-Toyota) 2 laps.
Did not finish: 17, T Sato (Japan, Super Aguri-Honda); 18, D Coulthard (GB, Red Bull-Ferrari); 19, C Klien (Austria, Red Bull-Ferrari); 20, Y Ide (Japan, Super Aguri-Honda); 21, J Trulli (It, Toyota); 22, C Albers (Neth, Midland-Toyota).

QUALIFYING POSITIONS: 1, M Schumacher 1min 22.795sec; 2, Button 1:22.988; 3, Barrichello 1:23.242; 4, Massa 1:23.702; 5, Alonso 1:23.709; 6, R Schumacher 1:23.772; 7, Montoya 1:24.021; 8, Räikkönen 1:24.158; 9, Trulli 1:24.172; 10, Webber 1:24.795; 11, Fisichella 1:23.771; 12, Villeneuve 1:23.887; 13, Rosberg 1:23.966; 14, Coulthard 1:24.101; 15, Heidfeld 1:24.129; 16, Liuzzi 1:24.520; 17, Klien 1:25.410; 18, Speed 1:25.437; 19, Monteiro 1:26.820; 20, Albers 1:27.088; 21, Sato 1:27.609; 22, Ide 1:29.282.

NEXT GRAND PRIX: May 7: European (Nürburgring, Germany).

• JENSON BUTTON will fly to Britain today to meet Honda executives for what could be a series of tense exchanges over the debacle in Imola. Officially billed as a “motivational” meeting, it seems that Button will be motivating his team by lodging some full and frank opinions over the catalogue of errors that has cost him dear this season.
  
  Button refused to attach any blame for the pitstop incident to Alistair Gibson, Honda’s chief mechanic, who was mortified after he raised his warning “lollipop” stick to signal that Button could pull away while his car was still attached to the fuel hose. Button gave Gibson a reassuring hug after the race but, in spite of a phlegmatic exterior, was quietly fuming that his efforts were wasted for the second race in succession, after his engine blew up in Australia.
  
  Before setting off for the Honda factory in Brackley, Northamptonshire, he said: “It will be an interesting meeting, but hopefully we can sort things out. We thought we were ready for this season, but there have been too many mistakes.”
  
  Button is sixth in the championship, 26 points behind Fernando Alonso.