The Schumacher show rolled onto home turf in Germany yesterday but where the Canadian leg of the tour had been all smiles, harmony and family fun, yesterday's European Grand Prix was more like a 1970s super-group reunion tour - awash with incident, official sanction, rows and refusals to comment.

Saturday's qualifying session at the Nurburgring had teed up another instalment of sibling rivalry as Michael stole into his sixth pole of the season and brother Ralf planted his Williams beside his brother's Ferrari for the third time this year and the second race in a row.

Afterwards, the pair joked about not repeating their 1997 shunt at the Nurburgring's tight first corner and complimented each other on their respective mechanics' performances at the annual outing to the family karting track in nearby Kerpen last Wednesday.

Twenty four hours later, however, and the bonhomie had turned to bitterness, Ralf storming into the Williams motorhome and refusing to comment on a bruising start which saw his brother shoulder him aside into that first turn, despite the Williams man having the upper hand. The former Jordan pilot was also less than pleased about the 10-second penalty handed to him for crossing the white line separating pit exit and track after he had duelled and lost against his brother in the pits.

While it was the start the irked him most it was the penalty that ultimately cost the younger Schumacher two places and any chance of a win, leaving Michael to race unchallenged to the chequered flag to take a facile fifth win of the season that now moves him 24 points clear of nearest rival David Coulthard and in good shape to wrap up a second consecutive title well before the season closer in Japan in October.

In such circumstances, the elder Schumacher could afford to play a conciliatory role. "It was a hard decision to get a stop-go with just half the car passing the white line," said the world champion. "It's something you need to watch. I heard it was very close in terms of how much he crossed. We should think about whether there is a grey area where a penalty should not be applied, but that may be difficult to control. On the other side, if you know about the rule you should watch out for it."

The peace-making didn't extend to the start, however. "My start wasn't as perfect as it was supposed to be," he admitted of the out moment which saw his Ferrari bog down momentarily, allowing his brother to make a dart towards the Castrol-S turn. "I saw him on the inside and thinking he might be on a one-stop strategy I had to make sure of first corner. So I used the maximum allowed in the rules to move over and tighten up the line. That's the way you have to work."

After the rough and tumble start, the Ferrari was noticeably slower than the Williams and Ralf began to encroach on his brother's lead. He stabbed and pushed unsuccessfully through 28 laps before reaching the limits of tyre and fuel endurance and dived for the pits, the Ferrari moving the same way just yards in front. Williams though weren't as sharp as their driver, however, and a slow 9.3 second stop gave Ferrari a two-second advantage leaving the garages.

Whether the deficiencies of the stop got to Schumacher we'll probably never know but as he re-took the track, he slid out across the white safety line separating the pit exit from the track and immediately incurred the wrath of the race stewards. Eleven laps later and he was back in front of the Williams garage, a stopwatch ticking off the 10-second penalty and the 20-odd seconds it took to get in and out of the pitlane.

Dropped back to fourth he never again presented a significant challenge, except for a few stolen and presumably harsh words with Michael as the pair pulled their cars up at the end of the race.

While McLaren have slipped, David Coulthard claiming third after a forgettable weekend, Jordan's troubled season is beginning to career down a sharp and miserable slope. After a positive start to the weekend, with Jarno Trulli and Heinz Harald Frentzen taking over row four of the grid behind Ferrari, Williams and McLaren, yesterday's race was once again a huge disappointment with Trulli's EJ11 succumbing, on lap 44 and from sixth place , to a seized gearbox caused by an oil leak.

Four laps later and his team-mate was also out, his car thrown into the gravel traps as his traction control failed on the exit from the hairpin, kicking the German's rear wheels out from under him.

"It's clear we are not realising our potential," said a frustrated

Eddie Jordan. "The problems seem to be different at every race which is hugely frustrating and means we have to have ongoing analysis to establish causes for each retirement. In the meantime, with the top three opening up their leads, the battle for fourth remains open and we'll have to fight for that."