F1 team order regulations to be reviewed this year
Formula One patron Bernie Ecclestone has recently dropped a hint that the regulations banning team orders within the sport might just be scrapped at the close of this year. The Formula One supremo’s comments came after Ferrari escaped sanctions by the World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) for a resort to team strategy at the 2010 German Grand Prix.
The Scuderia contrived victory for the title contender Fernando Alonso at the expense of a well-deserved first-place finish for their Brazilian driver, Felipe Massa. In a veiled message, Massa was ordered by his race engineer, Rod Smedley, to slow down so that his team mate Alonso can take the first position on the podium.
Ferrari’s blatant use of team strategy to deprive Massa of victory at Hockenheim incensed many fans, who felt that Massa should have been allowed to take a win he so richly deserved after being laid off by life threatening injuries for a large part of the 2009 season. However, amidst the furor over Ferrari’s breach of regulations, many pundits remarked that team orders were an indispensable aspect of the sport.
BBC’s pundit Andrew Benson remarked that the team strategy was an inherent element of Formula One and no squad believes that these orders could be completely done away with, especially since there were so many clandestine ways of operating them.
Although, Ferrari were slapped with a hefty fine in Germany, but they have now been let go without further punishment. The WMSC has announced that rules banning team strategy from the sport would be reviewed at the end of this year. In the light of these developments, it would be reasonable to conclude that the team orders may become a legitimate part of Formula One after being outlawed in 2002.
Meanwhile, Ecclestone remarked that the decision taken by World Council over Hockenheim controversy was completely just. Moreover, the Formula One supremo said that as long as the rule remained in place, all teams are bound to respect it. McLaren’s team boss, Martin Whitmarsh commented on the matter by saying that WMSC’s decision over Ferrari’s breach of rules had left him quite confused.
Whitmarsh had hit out at Ferrari for contriving Alonso’s victory in Germany, stating that both drivers in a team should have equal opportunities on and off the track. His point of view was shared by Red Bull Racing’s principal Christian Horner, who also feels that team orders are unfair to drivers and spectators alike.
Both Whitmarsh and Horner reassured the fans that their squads would never contemplate a resort to team orders. Now that the WMSC’s verdict is out, Whitmarsh has been reportedly saying that the outcome of Ferrari saga has left the Formula One teams in a great deal of confusion as to how matters stand with regard to team orders within the sport.
Interestingly, it has also been recently revealed that team Williams and team Sauber have sent messages to the Formula One governing body, stating that they support the tactics employed by Ferrari at the German Grand Prix. Williams’ boss, Sir Frank Williams, remarked that he is in favor of squads being allowed to use team strategy. The highly respected Williams’ premier added that it was the absence of this very strategy that had cost his team dearly back in 1986 when the side lost the world championship to McLaren despite fielding the best car and two of the best drivers Formula One had ever seen.
However, Frank went on to say that this point was open to debate that whether there should be some rules which limit the use of team orders within the sport as opposed to a complete ban. But, McLaren’s Jenson Button has said that he completely opposes any such strategy. The 2009 world champion added that it would be “strange” if team orders were legalized once again.
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