Michael Schumacher and his younger brother Ralf choked back tears on Friday at the funeral of their mother Elisabeth, who died on Sunday.

The Formula One drivers, both dressed in black, their wives and their father Rolf attended a discreet ceremony with a few relatives and no public in the small western German town of Kerpen, where the brothers grew up and honed their skills on the local go-kart track

Elisabeth Schumacher had been in coma for some time after emergency surgery when she died in a Cologne hospital a few hours before Michael's victory in the San Marino Grand Prix. German media said she had been suffering from cancer. She was 55.

Michael and Ralf, who came fourth at Imola, had paid her a final visit on Saturday after qualifying first and second in the grid.

After winning on Sunday, Schumacher kept his helmet on to hide tears that welled up as he crossed the line.