Schumacher boys bury the hatchet.

Ralf and Michael Schumacher have ditched the emotions on display immediately after the Monaco Grand Prix, agreeing that the world champion's last-gasp lunge for the line was something any racing driver would have done.

Schumacher Sr came under fire from both his brother and Ferrari team-mate Rubens Barrichello for last lap moves in the principality, with Ralf claiming that the race for the line could have left someone in hospital - or worse. However, the pair have since sat down and discussed the matter, and presented a united front ahead of the their 'home' race at the Nurburgring this weekend.

"It is all over," Michael confirmed at the pre-race press conference, "Ralf and myself had a nice chat about it. It's racing."

Ralf accused Michael of 'taking his brain out' while racing, and forgetting that it was family he was putting in danger. The world champion refuted those suggestions.

"I think we are both very highly competitive race drivers - we fight on the circuit, everyone for his own interest, in a way for his team," he said, "But you never forget it is your brother, and you love your brother. When you finish the race, you may have some more emotions, but it doesn't really matter. At the end of the day, it is your brother, your blood, and everything that has been written in these silly newspapers at this moment, if you know each other, then you know it is BS."

Ralf was then asked why he didn't adopt similarly robust tactics, but the Toyota driver ducked the question, claiming that overtaking moves often happened in the blink of an eye, with little forward planning.

"In racing situations, sometime you see things in a different way," he attempted to explain, "We all fight for positions, people do think it is a bit tough or too tough, and maybe those things happen to me as well. Maybe, for the future, we adapt all that. At the end of the day, we are all sensible. Nobody wants to hurt another driver but, obviously, at the same time, you have to fight for your position, for your team and your own points, and it is a decision we sometimes have to take within a couple of tenths of a second. It might not always been the right one. It is like a start-line incident, things like this can always happen.

"Obviously, straight after the race, you can be slightly more emotional - you have an opinion and you stick to it. But it has nothing to do with a war, a family or brotherly war - it is just a different opinion.

"Whether it would have been Michael or anybody else, at that moment, I had a different opinion than another competitor. So I don't really see what the fuss is about. I understand to some extent that it is interesting for people to write about - maybe it was a good advert for tickets at the N?rburgring!"

Michael concluded the discussion by suggesting that, as the brothers had buried the hatchet, perhaps the press now ought to let the matter rest as well.

"Listen, I think we both said that we have to race each other," he said, "It is racing - maybe we might disagree on certain points of view, but it's pretty natural. We are both very competitive, we have our opinions and I think we have to have our opinions. But, to now make a detailed fuss about it - and 'he has said this little word' and 'he has done this little thing' - let's be serious. Let's stop the idiot business and continue again with the normal stuff."