Ferrari in Hot Water after Exercising Team Orders
Despite on-track incidents and circumstantial evidence proving the presence of team orders exercised by Ferrari in German Grand Prix, the Maranello based team has been denying the claims. Fernando Alonso, who was put in a position to win the race in Germany, said that he had no idea if anything went on between Massa and the team. Team Principal Stefano Domenicali has said that Massa made a mistake when he tried to shift gears and shifted three at a time. Massa has completely refused to comment on the incident.
On Lap 47 of the race Massa was told on radio, “Alonso is faster than you, confirm that you understand the message”, two laps later Massa slowed down to let Alonso pass and the team apologized to Massa over the radio right away. Ferrari was fined $100,000 and they have been referred to World Motor Sports Council for breach of article 39.1 and 57 of Motor Sports Regulations.
Later, majority of teams, current and former drivers, experts and fans from all over the world criticized Ferrari for what was an obvious move to let Alonso pass. However, Ferrari remained adamant that they did not exercise team orders and furthermore they did not decide to appeal against the hearing.
Ferrari may be hopeful about a favourable decision from WMSC but the recent developments have weakened their case. Brazilian press, fuming over the incident which made their compatriot give up the race lead, criticized Ferrari for bringing team orders into play. Recently they approached Luiz Antonio Massa, Felipe’s father, to find out his thoughts. Massa senior, who is usually present at Ferrari camp during the races and knows how the team operates, said that it was definitely a case of team orders and it is regrettable and unfortunate that they took this decision.
The Brazilian went on to say that like any good employee Massa was just obeying the management. Luiz Massa raised another important point when he said that he agrees in team orders but only when one driver has a chance to win the championship while there is no mathematical possibility for the other to win it. Right now, he said, both drivers stand the chance and it was unfair to sacrifice Massa’s race for Alonso.
Another evidence of team orders came from the outburst of Ferrari President, Luca Montezemolo, who instead of denying the existence of team orders in Germany, said that team orders have been common in races since day one and people are speaking against it because they wanted the two Ferrari drivers to crash into each other in an attempt to take the race lead. Montezemolo’s statement reveals that he is actually defending and justifying the use of team orders.
After 2002, the FIA put a ban on team orders and Ferrari is in direct breach of the rules. WMSC will pass its verdict on the incident in its next meeting. Many reporters believe that no further action will be taken against Ferrari and the matter will be quietly swept under the carpet. But if the sport wants to remain fan-friendly, this is unlikely to happen.
If WMSC are to penalize Ferrari, there are three ways of doing it. The team will either be stripped of the 43-points that it earned in the controversial race in Hockenheim or they could be placed under one-year or two-year probationary period and if they come out of line during that period they can be shot-down with a multi-race ban. A third possibility is disqualification of Ferrari from the current season. The drivers will be allowed to race and score points, but the team will be disqualified from constructors’ race.
McLaren has already suffered all three penalties in the past. In 2007, they were disqualified for their involvement in espionage scandal and only their drivers were allowed to score points. In Australia 2009, Hamilton started the race in 18th place and finished in 4th. McLaren said that they were overtaken by Trulli’s Toyota under safety car and eventually obtained 3rd position. But later it was revealed that they presented false data to stewards. Following this lie-gate scandal, their race was cancelled and they were put on one-year probation.
A lot of teams and experts believe that the FIA and WMSC are inclined towards Ferrari and have always shown leniency to the scarlet team.
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