Grapevine: German Fans Still Loyal to Schumacher

They felt robbed, duped and cheated when their hero Michael Schumacher was handed a hollow victory at last month's Austrian Grand Prix.

But Schumacher's fans said on Saturday they were trying to put behind them memories of Austria where the German driver was allowed to pass Ferrari teammate Rubens Barrichello, on team orders, just before the finish.

Barrichello had led from pole position and Schumacher, the most successful driver in Ferrari's history, was booed despite clinching the 58th win of his career.

"It was a horribly unsportsmanlike thing to do," said Wolfgang Buhren, an engineer from Muenster, while watching Schumacher finish third in qualifying for Sunday's European Formula One Grand Prix at the Nurburgring circuit.

"I've long been a big Schumacher fan but that deeply disappointed me. We want a fair race and not a manipulated result. He's good enough to win fairly. It was nonsense (in Austria). I hope it never happens again," the 46-year-old Buhren added.

Sunday's race, on a circuit in the Eifel hills less than an hour from Schumacher's home town of Kerpen, will provide an interesting test of how his most loyal fans now regard the World Champion.

Scores of Schumacher supporters wearing their Ferrari red caps and T-shirts seemed to be in a forgiving mood during Saturday's qualifying. Loud cheers and horns sounded each time the German drove past the crowd.

Still Best

"He made a mistake but he's still the best," said Thomas Jung, 39, a mechanic from Hamburg.

"It wasn't a wise thing to do and I think it's hurt the popularity of the sport," said Udo Strangmeier, 41, a businessman from Luebbecke. "But he needs to make amends for it."

"It was a shabby thing to do," said Klaus Baller, 59, from Berlin. "They could have found a more elegant solution than that. There was no need for it. But he's still a great driver and I don't think anyone will hold it against him for long."

Schumacher, who moved 27 points clear in the Championship after five wins in six races following his Austrian success, will have to explain himself at a hearing of FIA, the sport's governing body, in Paris next week. Both Schumacher and his Ferrari team could face a fine or punishment.

Schumacher's critics, including three times World Champion Jackie Stewart, have said Ferrari's team strategy in Austria went against the spirit of the sport, adding that the German could have ignored team instructions. A few days later in Monaco, Schumacher refused to give a news conference after receiving the 2002 Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award.

The Greatest

"If Schumacher had let Barrichello overtake him again, he would have been immortalised as the greatest," said Susanne Stoldt, a bank worker from Frankfurt. But instead of being a champ, Schumacher was just a chump fans have said.

"I was cheated out of the wonderful feeling I usually experience after he wins," said Thomas Averswald, 24, also from Frankfurt. "It felt empty. It felt dirty. It was a big mistake. But fortunately Schumacher said he wouldn't do it again."

Surveys have found that some 40 percent of Germany's 82 million people consider themselves to be Schumacher fans, although many say they find him unlikable.

"I've never liked him and dislike him even more now," said Achim Groes, 33, a restaurant owner from Bocholt.

"I thought he was a bad sport years ago when he deliberately crashed into Damon Hill to win the (1994) Championship. He may be a super driver. But he showed us again what kind of sportsman he is."

'Schumi' fever peaked last year when the 140,000 tickets for Nurburgring were sold out well before the race and organisers said they could have sold 200,000 tickets. This year, there are still several seats available, even though capacity has been expanded to 150,000.