MICHAEL SCHUMACHER'S classic win at the fearsome Spa Francorchamps circuit yesterday has greatly helped Damon Hill's prospects of clinching his first world championship title. The Ferrari driver beat off a late challenge by the only other contender for the title, Jacques Villeneuve, and ensured that Hill retained a double digit lead in the title chase with just three races to go.

With Hill finishing - fifth, he heads the table by 13 points and can win the title at Monza in a fortnight's time. A win there and Villeneuve finishing fifth or lower would make Hill the champion.

The luck of the Irish remained absent from Grand Prix yet again, with both Jordans retiring and Eddie Irvine again failing to finish.

The majestic Ardennes circuit has always been lucky for Schumacher whose home town of Keipen is just 60 miles away. He made his debut there - with Jordan - in 1991 and won in 1992 and last year. He took a special satisfaction in winning in the troublesome Ferrari yesterday: "In practice I was 1.2 seconds slower than the Williams so it was a bit of a surprise and a special pleasure to win," he said. "I had a good start and then my pit stop coincided with the safety car coming onto the track," he added.

This effectively meant he lost no time in his pit stop as he rejoined a queue behind the pace car, and, as those ahead had to pit, he moved up the rankings. The pace car, there to allow an ambulance take a badly shaken Jos Verstappen to hospital peeled off after four laps, leaving only the two Marlboro McLarens ahead of Schumacher, and both of these had to pit shortly thereafter. It wasn't planned that way, said Schumacher. The car was out of fuel. I had to pit then. It was luck."

Damon Hill, who slipped to fourth from his front row starting slot and never battled for the lead, had little luck. "The balance of the car was nowhere near as good in the race as in practice," he said. "Then there was a mix up in the pit instructions - I was coming in and then I was told to go back out again.

Villeneuve's performance was impressive for a first visit to the long and fast circuit, but he had his pit stop a lap after Schumacher and when the pace car peeled off he was behind the German.

Schumacher was in no mood to surrender. "I drove as hard as I could. I was a bit concerned at one stage about the steering. I hit the kerbs quiet hard and some play came into it and I was a bit afraid. But it was checked at the pit stop and everything was all right, so I just went as quick as I could," he said. That was quick enough to keep Villeneuve six seconds behind at the end. The six points the Finch Canadian earned, as against Hill's two, narrows the gap to 13 with three races to go.

Two years ago Jordan's Rubens Barrichello led the race from pole position, but this year it was a different story. From tenth on the grid the Brazilian got pushed to the outside of the track as the field rounded La Source. Contact was made with Heinz Harald Frentzen's Sauber: "The front suspension and wheel geometry went badly off," said Barrichello. "We repaired some of the damage in the pits but it was never right." Barrichello retired at half distance.

His team mate Martin Brundle was in good shape early on, running in seventh. "The pace car blew all the advantage we would have got from running a one stop strategy basically everyone else got a stop that cost them no time. I still felt maybe a points finish was on, but towards the end the crankcase pressure built up - I think it was a piston," said Brundle, who also had to retire.

Eddie Irvine did not finish - for the eighth time on the trot.