The battle of the Schumacher brothers has boosted the profile of Grand Prix racing to such levels that money is pouring in from German sponsors. Karl Ludvigsen writes about Formula One's new dimension

"With the duel of the Schumacher brothers Formula One is racing into a new dimension." So wrote my friend Bernd Ostmann, editor of Germany's auto motor und sport. Drivers have always been the stars of Formula One. The cars are controlled by regulations and there's only one driver per car, so for fans the world over the Formula One Drivers' Championship has long been the one to watch. But now, with the Schumacher brothers vying for wins, the whole game has been raised to a higher plane. "Companies, brands and sponsors are all in the sport's slipstream," Ostmann quoted Gerhard Berger. "The stars are the drivers."

In the rest of the world it may be hard to grasp the frenzy that's gripped the German-speaking world since Ralf beat Michael in a straight fight in Canada. "Is Ralf the better Schumi?" screamed Bild after Montreal. "Is the 'little one' soon to be the bigger?" "Of the 16.2 million Germans who followed the brothers' duel in Canada," wrote a Bild columnist, "half were hoping Ralf would win. Me included. They were all those who have an older brother. The older brother is always better, always the first. He kisses before you, stays up later than you." With his successes Ralf has struck a bold blow for oppressed younger brothers the world over.

Bild published a full-page analysis of the two brothers by racer Hans-Joachim Stuck. If Michael has the head, says Stuck, Ralf has the heart. He judges them equal in fitness and considers Ralf the more emotional, Michael the more rational. In the important criterion of the backside, that part of the anatomy that is in closest contact with the car, Stuck says that Michael's "is more sensitive than Ferrari's computers - like a seismograph." Ralf too has a talented backside, says Stuck, "that only needs some fine tuning." Such is Germany's obsessive interest in its star drivers!

Bild - a popular and colorful paper with an eye for the ladies - doesn't overlook the Schumacher women. "Don't risk your lives!" shouts a front-page headline flanked by Ralf's Cora and Michael's Corinna. "Kids, pay attention! They've crashed before!" warn more headlines in German's most-read daily. "I couldn't and wouldn't stop them doing what they do because they're born to race," says mother Elisabeth, since 1997 separated from their father Rolf. "I'm backing both and, at the moment, especially Ralf." At least mom is willing to lend a hand to the younger brother for a change.

Germany's TV and papers are full of the brothers. Whom do celebrities favor for success? What do the men and women in the street think? It's all there in living color. The Hamburger Abendblatt dubs them "The Clones from Kerpen" and weekly news magazine Focus headlines "Beloved Rivals: Joy and Sorrow with the Other Me". Small wonder that plans are well advanced for the opening next year of the "World of Schumacher" museum in Kerpen-Mannheim near Cologne. It will be a must-see pilgrimage for German sports fans.

The battle of the brothers has boosted the profile of Grand Prix racing to such levels that money is pouring in from German sponsors. Around 300 million marks a year are lavished on Formula One by its German backers, among whom the biggest are Siemens, cigarette maker Reemtsma and Germany's Post Office. That doesn't even include the financing of cars and engines themselves by Mercedes and BMW.

"Schumania" ensures that the drivers themselves get to hang on to some of the loot. German sources credit Michael with an income of DM70 million a year. Jacques Villeneuve, they say, is second in the Grand Prix league with DM56 million. With his new BMW Williams contract Ralf is said to be the third best paid with DM 42 million a year. Even a little brother can be satisfied with that.

The mind boggles when it attempts to contemplate the conditions that will prevail at the Hockenheimring for the German Grand Prix. This will be the last race for the track in its present form; plans are afoot for a shortened version that looks quite good. But the cars and drivers will continue to race in front of the huge stands and massive crowds where this year we'll be sure to see some white and blue flags as well as the familiar red. Schumania deserves no less.