The European Grand Prix last weekend must rack up as one of Ralf Schumacher's 'best be forgotten' races. He was angry at his brother for chopping him at the start (albeit defending him two days later) and was upset at the stewards for the penalty he received (although he did publicly state he accepts the punishment). Roger Horton observed the drama - the real drama - that took place in the F1 paddock at the Nurburgring, and brings some information and insight on the events as they unfolded

There is no way this race could be called a classic by any stretch of the imagination. Once again, as in Monaco, most of the post-race excitement was generated in the paddock afterwards, when debate raged as to the fairness of the ten-second stop/go penalty handed out to Ralf Schumacher for what appeared to be a minor infraction of the rules.

There was also much discussion concerning the shoving match at the start between Michael and his brother Ralf, which effectively decided the order into the first corner. The Michael Schumacher 'chop', so evident at several races last year, was back in a big way, but this time used for the first time against his own kith and kin. And Ralf, just like David Coulthard, who was on the receiving end last year at Imola and Magny-Cours, was distinctly unimpressed by the manoeuvre.

It was earlier this year, in Malaysia, that Ralf first qualified his improving BMW-Williams alongside his brother's Ferrari. "I am not worried about what he (Michael) might do," he told Atlas F1 at the time about the way his brother defends his position off the line. "He knows the way I race, I know the way he races, so there should be no problems."

At that race, and in the intervening six events since, the brothers have not been in a position to test just what the elder Schumacher would indeed do, faced with the threat of Ralf's Williams powering past him into the first corner. At the Nurburgring we found out that, as far as Michael is concerned, Ralf is just another driver: to be treated in just the same way as anyone else, and Schumacher junior, just like every other driver on the receiving end of his brother's treatment, didn't like it one little bit.

As far as Michael was concerned the situation was very cut and dried. "The start of the race was a key moment for me," the elder Schumacher explained after the race. "I really had to fight hard and I really had to do everything I could that was allowed to keep Ralf behind me. I left him room, but I was hard on him, I know that. It was very necessary for me, because I knew I was on two stops, but I didn't know what strategy Ralf was on."

As has been widely reported, Ralf refused to speak to the media after the race, rushing straight from his car to the sanctuary of his team's motorhome, but he had a face like thunder, and earlier he was seen to have a brief - but apparently acrimonious - exchange with his brother during the post-race weight check.

Late on Tuesday afternoon, two days after the race, Ralf was already defending his brother's tactics at the start. "That kind of thing isn't exactly very pleasant for the person on the receiving end," Ralf told Alan Baldwin in an exclusive interview. "But he was just defending his position, as he did later on in the race as well. I would have done exactly the same in his situation."

This may well be Ralf's position now, with the benefit of 48 hours to cool down and mull over just whether a full-blown war of words with Michael would do him any good. But those who were in his presence in the one hour or so immediately after the race, which he spent venting his frustrations against both Michael's tactics and his ten second stop/go penalty, were in no doubt then as to the depth of his feelings about both situations.

After the race, Patrick Head confirmed that, "Ralf will indeed be having a few words with Michael concerning the incident." Head also confirmed that his driver had indeed been forced to back off the throttle to avoid making contact with the Ferrari. Numerous other Williams insiders also confirmed their driver's unhappiness. His team boss Frank Williams, on the other hand, refused to comment, stating that it was "between the two brothers to sort out."

The race officials, of course, believe that Schumacher's 'chop' comes within the 'one move is allowed' rule, and so no action was ever likely to be taken by them. Furthermore, three-time World Champion Niki Lauda was one of the first to support the Ferrari driver, stating: "There was nothing wrong with what Michael did. He was always completely in front. Anyone would have done it, I would have done it and even Ralf would have done it if the situation was reversed."

With the increasing competitiveness of the BMW-Williams package, having the two brothers on the front row of the grid is likely to be a pretty regular occurrence. It would seem on the evidence of what happened at this last race that we are likely to get more fireworks at the start of the race, than hugs in Parc Ferme at the end. This may not be much good for brotherly love, but some good hard racing for the lead is what F1 racing needs at the moment, and on current form the Schumacher siblings are the only two drivers in a position to provide it.

Ever since Ralf Schumacher entered Formula One, some four and a half years ago, he has always laboured under his brother's shadow. Increasingly he has been showing signs of tiring of the role of the junior partner in F1 racing's most famous family. Armed with an increasingly powerful BMW-Williams-Michelin combo, and boosted by a new two-year contract extension, together with a big buck salary package as a vote of confidence by his employers, he is out to prove that he is ready to win on a regular basis.

This of course means beating Michael on a regular basis, and as this race showed, getting beaten by anyone, either to the first corner or to the last, is not yet on Michael Schumacher's agenda.

On the face of it, Ralf's ten-second stop/go penalty for crossing the white blend line, marking the dividing line between the exit of the pit lane and the front straight, was pretty straightforward. The rules state that no part of the car can cross completely over the line, which Ralf's car clearly did. But Ralf's problems had already started even as he stopped to refuel.

Prior to each race the teams are given an updated diagram of the whole pit lane area and the rules governing just where the cars are allowed to go, and they are also reminded of the penalties for any infringements. The procedure followed in this instance was also very straightforward. Once the infringement had been seen by Charlie Whiting, the FIA Race Director, a report was forwarded to the three race stewards, who, according to the rules laid down prior to the race, had only one option open to them - to hand down the penalty, as they duly did.

This ruling may appear harsh, but should two cars duelling for position down the main straight come into contact with a car travelling at a much slower speed as it emerges from the pit lane, the consequences could be extremely serious, to say the least. So the slower car must be contained within the white line for everyone's safety.

In Ralf Schumacher's post race comments there is a clue as to just why he made what appeared to be such a simple mistake. "I was looking in my mirrors when I left the pits and obviously concentrated more on the traffic behind me than the line," Ralf said in Williams's official press release. "I have to accept the penalty," he added.

The traffic that he was "looking for" was David Coulthard, who was on a one-stop routine and who did, in fact, just manage to overtake him as he left the pits. Coulthard then ran between Ralf and his brother's leading Ferrari for a few laps. The Scot, however, only just made it past, and had Ralf been out of the pits just a little bit quicker, the view in his mirrors would have looked a lot different.

But it was two situations, conspiring together, that actually put Ralf in the position to be concerned at all about Coulthard's presence, and perhaps also played a part in him incurring his penalty. According to a Williams insider, Ralf had actually overshot his stopping point "by about a meter" during his first stop, "and that automatically costs him one second."

Furthermore, Williams had actually added a little more fuel than Ferrari during that first fateful stop. Clearly the team was planning a Canadian repeat by staying out longer than their Ferrari rivals for what would have been a crucial second and last stop.

The idea was good, but Ralf's initial misjudgment meant that he was under pressure not to be passed by Coulthard, and with the team's warning ringing in his ears concerning the McLaren driver's position as he motored slowly down the pitlane, an apparently inexcusable mistake was made as he powered up to speed on the exit.

After the race, Michael Schumacher expressed some sympathy for his brother's penalty. "It is very hard and I understand why Ralf is angry about this, but those are the rules," he said.

In the immediate aftermath of what was, for the first 40 laps or so, an intriguing battle for supremacy in the Schumacher family at their home race, and remembering the look on Ralf's face as he stormed across the paddock, this was probably about the only thing that the pair could agree on.