Motor Racing: Schumacher shows his contempt for Hill: German delivers scathing attack on British driver as hostilities resume in the bitter race for world championship title

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER resumed his Formula One world championship duel with Damon Hill here yesterday by launching an extraordinary, contemptuous attack on the British driver.

The 25-year-old German, having completed a two-race suspension, is back for the final three rounds of the season, just one point ahead of Hill. The parity of the contest, however, only partially explains Schumacher's reinforced determination to take the crown and his hostility towards his rival.

As the drivers assembled here for Sunday's Grand Prix of Europe, Schumacher revealed why he had lost respect for Hill the man, and why he dismissed the credibility of Hill the driver as No 1 at Williams- Renault and a world championship contender. The Benetton-Ford driver contended that had Ayrton Senna, Hill's late team-mate, been alive, the title would have been the Brazilian's. Schumacher's condemnation of Hill was conducted calmly but ruthlessly and doubtless intended to probe any psychological weakness.

'I don't think we would have been in this situation if Ayrton Senna had been in the car,' Schumacher said. 'Ayrton would have been driving circles around me. That shows what I think about Damon as a driver. He has been thrown into the No 1 driver position, but he never really was a No 1 driver. With David Coulthard driving quicker than him after three races, it proves he is not a No 1 driver. So the respect is certainly not as much as I have for other drivers.'

Schumacher has never considered Hill a peer, but his attack is rooted in the recent past. Schumacher is aggrieved because he feels Hill compounded his torment after disqualification at the Belgian Grand Prix. Hill said he had no sympathy for him if Benetton were cheating.

'You always start to know people when you are in trouble,' Schumacher said, 'and he has not been very helpful when I was in big trouble.

'Every time we proved we did not cheat, they found a way to turn it around and say 'yes, but there was something else'. A lot of people were unhappy with what happened to us, only one or two thought it was right, and one person in particular.

'I did respect him more in the past because I thought he was a nice guy and a fair guy. A lot of drivers have said fair things, but Damon was the opposite. I don't expect him to stick up for me and say what is happening is wrong, but I don't expect someone to make it even worse. He would have been better to say nothing at all.

'As soon as I saw what he said I thought OK, now I know how to handle it. This has made me more determined to win the championship. I always get stronger when I'm in trouble. I am certainly more determined because there is one point between us and if I won the title I would have done it in 12 races, not 16.

'If I don't win the championship, I think everyone will know why,' he said, referring to his suspension and deducted points.

Apart from delivering this tirade, his preparation has included high-altitude training in Switzerland and two ominously productive test sessions at Estoril, where he was quicker than Hill.

Nigel Mansell takes over from Coulthard in the other Williams for the remainder of the season and yesterday morning he stayed on at Estoril, where he matched Hill's best time.

'Mansell is not so much a problem for me, because he is not a driver to help Hill as Coulthard had to do,' Schumacher said. 'Mansell is there to prove he is still a big driver and to get a good contract for next year.'

Schumacher and Hill stayed at the same hotel for testing earlier this week and had breakfast in the same restaurant. However, they sat at opposite ends of the room.

Hill's rationale was that 'you can't be chummy in our situation. It's difficult, you don't really know what to say. I don't have a problem with him but I'm worried about defusing my desire to beat him.'

Schumacher ridiculed his opponent's perception of the scene. 'I remember times when we would have sat together and talked together,' he said. 'But after what has happened you can understand it would be no fun for me to sit next to him and talk to him.

'I just wish Ayrton was here now. He would have been the guy I was fighting for the championship. It does not mean so much without Ayrton.'

Schumacher maintains he will seek vengeance strictly within the rules. 'I will fight clean on the circuits. I will be hard, but I always will be fair,' he said. 'It will be difficult for him, even though he does, unfortunately, have the machinery, the car and the engine. The tests have made me confident for the rest of the season.'

Hill concedes that the German has a rare gift. He feels, however, that the younger man's confidence could be his undoing.

'Of course I admire and respect him,' the 34-year-old Hill said. 'It would be ignorant not to, but he is not unbeatable. He has intense determination and belief in himself as the best, but I believe complete self-confidence can be a weakness because it can take only a small thing to damage it. He can make mistakes.'

Eric Bernard, of France, replaced by Johnny Herbert at Ligier on Wednesday, has joined the British driver's former Lotus team for the European Grand Prix.