From the Pulpit

On one level, Michael Schumacher is probably dreading the British Grand Prix. He's less vocal on the subject than is his younger brother - who makes no secret of his dislike for all things British - but Michael can be pretty perfidious about Albion himself, and, after what he did at Monaco on Saturday, he's surely anticipating a pretty rowdy reception from the Silverstone crowd.

On the other hand, what Michael did at Monaco on Sunday - namely, drive as hard and as well as ever he has any time, any place, anywhere - would seem to indicate that he has decided to obliterate his disgrace in the only way he knows how: by burying it under monumental further achievement.

And what he did at Barcelona last week - namely, establish a new unofficial lap record in testing, notwithstanding having seen his teammate Luca Badoer's terrifying 140mph shunt at Turn 3 - only confirmed that.

There are at least two Michaels, you see. There's the charming, gracious Michael 1 who smiles and plays pro-am football and knows all his mechanics' names and crouches beside wheelchairs to sign autographs for disabled fans and kisses babies and whatnot... And there's the bloody-minded Michael 2 who will brook no interference in his one-dimensional quest to win everything, every place, everywhere. And at any cost.

When he has a car advantage, as he usually did from 2000 to 2004, the two Michaels aren't so very different; when he doesn't, as now, Michael 1 tends to give way to Michael 2. And when there's trouble at the Ferrari mill, as now, Michael 1 is put in mothballs. So, all things considered, at Silverstone we'll see a helluva lot more of Michael 2 than of Michael 1.

And Michael 2 is difficult to like - and Monaco 2006, and particularly the fact that the FIA stewards issued an unequivocal guilty verdict, which allowed all and sundry to bandy the word 'cheat' about with what used to be called gay abandon, has amplified, spotlighted and somehow legitimised Formula One insiders' dislike of Michael 2.

Michael Schumacher at the 2006 Monaco Grand Prix © LAT

And the result of that is that, in the paddock at least, and especially the Silverstone paddock, Schumacher will react in the same way as you or I would probably react: that is to say, with piqued defensiveness. In his case, that means more Michael 2 - and, in an unbreakably vicious circle, more dislike from Formula One insiders.

Especially other drivers. Yes, the other drivers are absolutely furious about what Michael did at Monaco on Saturday - and rightly so, for it was a truly despicable 'professional foul'. But that isn't, in fact, the only reason they're so furious. That isn't, in fact, the only reason they're talking about demanding his resignation from the Grand Prix Drivers' Association board of directors.

No, the plain fact is that, as far as Formula One insiders are concerned, Michael Schumacher has outstayed his welcome. Everyone wants him to go. They want him out of the way. And Monaco 2006 is the stick with which they're preparing to beat him in order to make him sling his hook.

Nothing in Formula One is quite as it seems. Yes, former world champions Jackie Stewart and Keke Rosberg were speaking honestly, from both heart and mind, when they slammed Michael's Rascasse manoeuvre just hours after it had been performed - and fair play to both of them for daring to be so forthright.

On the other hand, it's surely significant that the two ex-drivers who were most outspoken on the subject - yes, Keke and Jackie - both have something to gain by rubbishing Michael's reputation. Think about it: Keke has very deliberately positioned his son Nico as German rather than Finnish, for obvious strategic/commercial reasons.

Equally, the senior marketers of Williams sponsor RBS (i.e., the provider of Jackie's principal income stream these days) are delighted to have a driver associated with Europe's largest economy sporting their colours in Formula One.

But how much better it would be for both Keke and Jackie if Michael were out of the way, or discredited, or both, leaving the way clear for Nico to become 'Formula One's top German'?

Perhaps many paddock people's reaction to Monaco 2006 was, in part, Pavlovian. In other words, it was partly the result of conditioned reflexes, automatic, involuntary. A case of: "If Michael is in trouble, let's give him a kick; that way we might get rid of him."

By the same token, albeit in reverse, it's also surely significant that the only current driver to have spoken in support of Michael post-Monaco, in the sense that he has downplayed the likelihood of Michael's being sacked from the GPDA board, is David Coulthard: a man who is currently 100 per cent focused on re-signing with Red Bull Racing, a team that currently uses Ferrari engines. But, Michael's Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa apart, Coulthard is about the only one.

Like almost all the rest, Jenson Button was unimpressed with what Michael did at Monaco on Saturday - but, again, like most current drivers, he wasn't prepared to talk about it on the record.

But in early January 2001, when Button had had one excellent rookie year with Williams, and was about to embark on what he then hoped might be an exciting season with Benetton, F1 Racing ran a cover story in which Jenson was interviewed by Damon Hill (F1 Racing, February 2001 issue).

I was there, manning the Dictaphone and steering the conversation to areas I thought might interest F1 Racing}'s readers. Suddenly, changing the subject, Jenson said, "Michael is definitely the best driver in Formula One, that's all I know."

What was said next, taken directly from my Dictaphone, was fascinating enough then. But it's even more fascinating now:

Michael Schumacher (Benetton-Ford B194) clashes with Damon Hill (Williams-Renault FW16B) in the 1994 Australia Grand Prix at Adelaide © Ersek Zsolt/FORIX

Hill: "Well, have you always watched him? Did you watch Adelaide 1994 [when Schumacher side-swiped Hill, ending Damon's race and championship chances in one fell swoop], for instance?"

Button: "Yeah. I thought that was all right."

Hill: "What did he do that was all right?"

Button: "Well, he won."

Hill: "Okay, you're nailing your colours to the mast here, Jenson. You're saying that the outcome is the only important thing, and that therefore anything goes."

Button: "Well, that's the most important thing, yeah."

Hill: "So what isn't acceptable then?"

Button: "I'd have done the same thing in his position. It didn't look good, but it worked."

Hill: "Okay, let's look at Jerez 1997 [when Schumacher side-swiped Villeneuve, attempting but failing to end Jacques's race and championship chances in one fell swoop], because Adelaide 1994 is a bit too personal to me. What did you think of that?"

Button: "I didn't think that was bad at all."

Hill: "Okay, so run me through it."

Button: "I thought it was okay."

Hill: "What do you mean by 'it'? Do you mean Jacques's manoeuvre or Michael's?"

Button: "Jacques's."

Hill: "Okay, no problem. I agree with you there. Jacques barged down the inside of Michael. That was legit, I agree. But if you'd been in Michael's position, would you have done what he then did?"

Button: "Well, you can't say. You can't know. But the only thing that was wrong with what Michael did was that it didn't work."

Of course, Jenson was a young pup in January 2001. He wouldn't talk like that now. Moreover, he was probably trying to impress Damon, who was a recently retired and therefore still very big star in January 2001, with a bit of I-may-be-new-to-this-lark-but-nothing-scares-me and in-any-case-you're-an-old-fart-who-was-never-that-quick-anyway bravado.

But, just as significant, in January 2001 Michael was only 32. Moreover, although he had already won three world drivers' championships, he had won only one for Ferrari. In other words, Ferrari and Michael hadn't begun to paint Formula One indelibly rosso corsa, as they did from then on until 2004, and Michael's fellow drivers weren't yet aching to see the back of him. They are now. Almost everyone is.

And what that means is that, whatever Michael 1 thinks about it, Michael 2 will probably now stay on and on and on and on and on, and rub everyone's noses in it some more. Or, to put it another way, Michael 1 may be shy, but Michael 2 ain't retiring. Not now. Not after Monaco. Not in my book, anyway.