Schumacher defends Schumacher

Ralf Schumacher has defended his elder brother Michael following the backlash that followed the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Schumacher came under fire for the move he made in the closing stages of the race, where he moved across on Rubens Barrichello in an attempt to defend tenth place on the start-finish straight.

Barrichello was forced to take to the grass to avoid contact with the German's Mercedes and was lucky not to hit the pitwall, with stewards handing Schumacher a ten-place grid penalty for the Belgian GP at Spa over the manoeuvre.

The way in which Schumacher veered across to defend the position had led to much criticism of the seven-time champion but the younger Schumacher - now competing in the DTM - had now moved to defend his sibling.

"I think it's completely inappropriate when Michael is depicted as some kind of unfeeling robot," he told Auto Bild. "This is not Michael. He slept on his manoeuvre and said sorry, out of conviction because he realised his mistake. They should believe him and accept it.

"It certainly has a lot to do with Michael's past. He is the most successful driver in F1 history and people are critical, especially now with his comeback which is not going very well. It was a tough manoeuvre but shows how seriously Michael still takes his job.

"He is now more willing to compromise, which can be seen in his apology. Previously he was criticised for being too straight and cool, now he is more relaxed it is interpreted as a lack of ambition. This is the wrong interpretation."