Magny-Cours, France ? Michael Schumacher clinched his record-tying fifth Formula One season title Sunday with a victory in the French Grand Prix.

Starting from the No. 2 spot on the grid, Schumacher took the lead in his Ferrari on the 68th lap when frontrunner Kimi Raikkonen of McLaren-Mercedes skidded on oil apparently leaked by a car that had gone off the edge of the track.

The German made the pass under a yellow flag, but the results were not immediately contested by Raikkonen’s team.

Schumacher, who finished in 1 hour, 32 minutes and 9.837 seconds, spent much of the race locked in second place, first behind early frontrunner Juan Pablo Montoya, and then behind Raikkonen, who took second at the finish.

Raikkonen was followed by teammate David Coulthard, Montoya of BMW-Williams, his teammate Ralf Schumacher, and Jenson Button of Renault.

The triumph gave Schumacher an unbeatable 96 points in the season standings with six races remaining, and was his eighth triumph in 11 races so far. No driver has won a season championship so quickly.