Fans Say Punish Ferrari, Not Schumacher, for Austria

Michael Schumacher's controversial Austrian Grand Prix win last month was a flagrant violation of the spirit of Formula One and Ferrari should be punished, fans said on Sunday.

Spectators at the European Grand Prix questioned by Reuters said they were delighted their protests had been heard and that Ferrari had refrained from issuing "team orders" to number two driver Rubens Barrichello as they had done when Schumacher won in Austria.

Barrichello led most of the way on Sunday and held on to win the race, 0.294 seconds in front of teammate Schumacher.

"That's the way it should be - the best man won today," said Gerd Liesch, 40, a Schumacher fan from the nearby town of Limburg. "We came to see a fair race and that's what we got. It's a sign the sport is in good health again."

But many said Formula One rules should be changed to prevent a repeat of the "team orders" incident in Austria where Barrichello surrendered his lead to Schumacher just metres from the chequered flag.

The FIA, the sport's governing body, will hold a meeting in Paris on Wednesday to investigate what happened in Austria, but many fans said they did not think Schumacher himself should be stripped of points.

Ugly Incident

"It was an ugly incident but it would be madness to penalise Schumacher," said Manfred Simmler, 48, a knife maker from Elskirchen. "It was a team order and he couldn't do anything about it."

It was hard to find anyone who completely backed Ferrari, however, even among the Ferrari fans. Rainer Picke, a 39-year-old car salesman from the Saarland wearing a bright red Ferrari hat and shirt, said the hollow win in Austria had damaged the integrity of the sport.

"The Ferrari team should have the constructors points taken away," he said, referring to the team competition that runs parallel to the individual Championship.

"But Schumacher shouldn't be penalised. He's just an ordinary guy on the payroll. It wasn't his decision. It wasn't good what happened, but I doubt he'll ever do that again because the reaction was so negative. I think he has suffered enough."

The disgruntled spectators at Spielberg let out a deafening roar of boos and whistles after the race. Schumacher, who was well ahead of the Championship at the time and is even further in front now, has also faced withering media criticism.

That was in sharp contrast to Sunday when the big home crowd at Nurburgring cheered wildly when Brazilian Barrichello sped across the finish line in front of their beloved Schumacher.

"Barrichello deserved to win," said Frank Schrutek, 40, a truck driver from Bielefeld. "What happened in Austria was bad for the sport's image. Ferrari first, Schumi second - perfect."

Schrutek said he thought Schumacher might have even had a chance to win again on Sunday.

"But I can imagine he was probably afraid to try to go for it because everyone would assume it was rigged again," he added.

Formula One Tarnished

Ferrari, who say that no rules were violated, have since vowed, nevertheless, that next time their number two driver is in the lead he will be permitted to win the race. Not everybody was so forgiving of Schumacher though, with some saying he, and Barrichello, should be stripped of the points they won in Austria.

"The reputation of Formula One suffered," said Stefan Claus, 39, a welder from Solingen. "It cheats fans and takes excitement out of the sport. I think they should take away all 16 points (for first and second place) from Schumacher and Barrichello."

Gilbert Keller, a BMW-Williams fan, said he also felt Schumacher should give up the ten points he collected for the undeserved victory in Austria.

"When you go to a horse race there's no 'team order' there," he said. "What Schumacher did was fraud for the betting public."

Willy Fleming, a 40-year-old construction worker, added: "It was a sham. It turns the sport into a bore."

Fridleifur Christianson, a fish factory engineer from Iceland who flew to Germany to watch the race, said Schumacher's popularity plunged after the incident. He said Ferrari should be handed a stiff fine that is more than a slap on the wrist.

"Ferrari's move hurt the whole sport," he said. "This was the second time they did it. I think FIA should clearly outlaw team orders before it damages the sport further."

The slump in popularity was felt by the Nurburgring organisers. Last year 142,000 tickets were sold out months in advance and organisers said 200,000 tickets could have been sold. This year tickets were still available on race day, the first time in years the race was not sold out.