Ferrari Fans Angered by 'Betrayal' of Barrichello

Ferrari's decision to force Rubens Barrichello to give way to Michael Schumacher in the Austrian Grand Prix has prompted a rebellion among supporters of the World Champions.

The famed 'tifosi', whose red flags appear on every Formula One race track in the world, flooded newspapers and websites on Monday to express their anger about the "team orders" which gifted World Champion Schumacher victory.

"I have been a Ferrari fan for 47 years and usually a one-two result would have me out in the streets dancing but frankly we all feel sick at this result," one man told TG1 television news. "Ferrari has betrayed us and all sense of sportsmanship."

The town of Maranello, where Ferrari's factory and headquarters are based, is the spiritual home of the team's supporters and is used to fans taking to the street to celebrate Schumacher victories. But the reaction to the German driver's fourth win in a row was unprecedented bitterness.

"We are very disappointed," said Alberto Beccari, president of the Ferrari Club of Maranello.

"Above all we are sporting people before we are Ferrari fans. Todt's choice is not good for the sport. Those four points are not needed to win the World Championship. We feel bitter as though we had lost," said Beccari.

Schumacher, who took 10 points for the win compared with six for second, now has a lead of 27 points in the standings after just six races. The results of a poll on the website of the daily Gazzetta dello Sport showed 58% of fans consider the team orders instructing Barrichello to allow Schumacher to pass were a 'scandal'.

Only 5.8% of those who voted believed Ferrari had made the right decision although 13.6% "accepted with embarrassment" the choice made.

"We like to celebrate victories not disgraces," wrote Roberto Curto in a letter to Gazzetta, "We have stolen a sweet from a child".

"It was an inauspicious decision. From tomorrow I will support McLaren. It is a disgrace," wrote another.

"Now I will sleep on one Sunday and watch the motorcycle Grand Prix on the other," said another - former - fan.