Brothers are no longer up in arms

In the immediate aftermath of the last Grand Prix in Barcelona, in which Michael and Ralf Schumacher went toe to toe, wheel to wheel in a spectacular and, for Ralf, costly duel, the drivers' father, Rolf, forecast that the atmosphere in the helicopter taking the trio back to the family base was likely to be as arctic as the conditions at the race track that weekend.

But whatever frosty words were exchanged during those minutes aloft are likely to remain unknown as both brothers, with two weeks of rehearsal behind them, yesterday threw up a bulwark of sibling unity when confronted by the ugly notion that they might still be a-feudin'. They may have been symbolically separated by Spanish GP winner Mika Hakkinen at yesterday's pre-race press conference but the message in the run-up to this weekend's European Grand Prix was clear: Crisis? What crisis?

"Certainly we had a little chat about it, but not in the way that some people wish or wrote about it," sighed Michael, with ennuiladen emphasis. "We're well-known brothers . . . He drives for Williams, I drive for Ferrari. We're not going to give each other presents. We have to fight for it as the rules allow us to do, as we have to do with our competitors. We respect each other and we give each other the room we need in order to survive and not to have any problems."

A sage nod from Ralf, a further sigh from the Ferrari driver and a little homily for the media to take home: "What needs to be resolved?" he pleaded. "The media makes a story out of a clean fight and then some silly journalists write stories that we shouted at each other and such stupid nonsense. Now we have to put things straight. Sorry, there was nothing, no need to blow up a balloon."

Another nod from Ralf. "There is no problem at all between us. We like fighting against each other."

"That's the point," interrupted Michael. "We enjoy this and we look forward to more of this."

After the dice in Barcelona, in which the brothers barracked and shunted each other into the final corner of the Montmelo circuit, a mini war of words erupted between the two, with Ralf insisting that he wanted to see a video of the race to gauge the legality of his brother's actions, and Michael insisting that if his younger sibling wanted a fight he'd give it to him.

Yesterday, though, it was all forgotten in a frenzy of verbal back-slapping and mutual understanding.

"I would describe it simply as a very good and close overtaking manoeuvre," said Ralf, metamorphosing into a model of diplomacy.

"Obviously I had some black marks on my sidepods but nothing happened. We can overtake each other without hitting. I hope it stays that way. It might change, it could happen, but the important thing is that we leave each other the space to survive, and m I'm not sure if that had happened to other drivers in Barcelona that they'd have come out of the first or last corner."

The tyre marks evident on the side of the white BMW Williams were similarly dismissed by Michael, who insisted that the buffeting was not indicative of a major collision. "Hitting and just rubbing are two different things," he said. "The next thing is the speed you do it at. We had a situation between us at Silverstone, going into Bridge corner at more than 250 kilometres per hour, and you don't want to do anything there, you don't want to get wheels into each other there, so I naturally I backed off because I was in the worse position. But in Spain we were at such a slow speed, which is a very slow speed for us, you know that nothing can happen to any of us. That's the business."

The business, as the elder Schumacher describes it, resumes today when both take to the Nurburgring track to begin set-up work for Sunday's European Grand Prix. The Ferrari driver's broken leg ruled him out of the race here last year, when it was held on its more traditional late season date, but the elder Schumacher has an enviable record here, with wins in 1994 and 1995 and second-placed finishes in 1996 and 1998.

Last year it was left to Ralf to garner some glory for the family name, and the Williams driver looked on course to claim his maiden win until a puncture robbed him of the lead a handful of laps from the chequered flag.

He has already this week spoken of his desire to claim victory here and with an uprated version of the BMW engine, the Williams number one looks certain to be the main challenger lurking behind the Ferraris and McLarens at the front of the grid.

McLaren too have a solid record at the circuit, with Hakkinen victorious twice in 1997 and 1998, and David Coulthard taking a fistful of second and third places in his five outings at the Nurburgring.

Yesterday, Hakkinen, quietly sitting amidst the Schumacher love-in, stirred himself only to respond to rumours that he may be considering retiring from Formula One at the end of this season.

"The retirement rumours are not true," he said. "I'm not planning to retire at all. I cannot promise I'll be racing next year because you never can tell what's going to happen, but to carry on racing is the plan." Hakkinen also refused to confirm whether he and wife Erja were expecting their first child - as was reported in the Finnish press yesterday - saying that it was a private matter and he would not discuss it.

Another denial, related more firmly to Formula One, came from Mercedes motorsport director, Norbert Haug, who categorically denied that the ailing Prost team will be supplied with Mercedes engines next year. The French outfit is likely to be without a works engine next year as the fragile, if not rancorous, relationship with current suppliers Peugeot ends in October and, although no announcement has been made, the French manufacturers are almost certain to pull out of Formula One. Rumours had linked the team to a customer deal with Mercedes, but Haug was swift to deny any possibility of the company supplying two teams on the grid.

"There is no chance," he said firmly. "Why should we give engines to a second team? It was never the plan. It was a discussion. These are rumours. It was never on our agenda. Capacitywise, we wouldn't be in a position to supply them. I've said before, contractually we are exclusively together with McLaren, so it would be a McLaren decision, but there is not a chance."

The engine crisis in Formula One, exacerbated by the limited number of works engines available from the now dominant motor manufacturers, is likely to affect a number of teams in coming seasons. Jordan too are without a works deal, despite the lengthy courting of Honda, as are Arrows and Minardi.