Former Ferrari ace Gerhard Berger has led the criticism following Michael Schumacher's victory in the race of shame in Austria.

The four-time champion's triumph, after teammate Rubens Barrichello obeyed team orders and moved over at the last corner on the A1-Ring, could not have come at a worse time for the sport.

F1 bosses were desperate for a good race after Schumacher's processional triumphs in the previous two outings, and they got that until the last 100 metres, when the Brazilian - who had dominated all but one of the 71 laps - gave way.

Even before the boos of the normally Schumacher-friendly crowd had died down, there were calls for the FIA, the sport's world governing body, to launch an investigation, which they have now agreed to do on June 26.

Berger, now chief at Ferrari's Grove-based rivals BMW-Williams, said: "It was a terrible decision. This does damage the sport. "There was no need to do this so early in the season, I just don't understand it. We have a police which is the FIA, and they have to take care of it.

"The FIA have a responsibility, and I am sure they will have an investigation, but what they are going to do about it I don't know."

McLaren boss Ron Dennis said: "What they have done is completely within the rules, but it is not the way we run our team.

"I am amazed that people are surprised at what they have done. They have done it before and will do it again."

If the FIA rules Ferrari has brought the sport into disrepute, and reverses the finishing order, disqualifying both drivers, or banning them from future races, it could revive interest in the championship. The destiny of the drivers' crown - if no major punishment is administered - is more inevitable than ever, with Schumacher now 27 points ahead of the BMW-Williams of Juan Pablo Montoya with 11 races left, instead of the 23 he would have been had he finished second.

Schumacher, stunned by the hostile reaction, said he had considered disobeying the order, to let Barrichello claim only his second win of his career.

For the record books, Schumacher won by 0.1 seconds to score his fourth Grand Prix win in succession and fifth in six races this season. It also extended the German's career record to 58.

Montoya finished third from Williams teammate Ralf Schumacher. The Enstone-based Mild Seven Renault F1 team had a mixed end to a difficult race. Jenson Button went on to finish the race seventh, while teammate Jarno Trulli's Grand Prix ended when he retired on lap 45, because of a loss of fuel pressure.

The Leafield-based Orange Arrows team also had a tough race. After a promising warm-up session, both Heinz-Harld Frentzen and Enrique Bernoldi's races ended when they fell foul of the notoriously tight first corner.