Ferrari will continue season without further penalty
The Italian Motorsport Federation has revealed that Ferrari will remain relatively unscathed in a decision made by the World Motor Sport Council over their team order scandal at the German Grand Prix.
Though the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) has yet to review their policy regarding team orders, Ferrari’s manager Stefano Domenicali carries the belief that his team was not in the wrong to give Felipe Massa coded orders. “We're sure the World Council will understand our position,” insists the Italian, whose team was subsequently fined $100,000 for its offense.
According to FIA, Ferrari violated two terms in the Formula 1 rulebook: Article 39.1 stating that “team orders which interfere with a race result are prohibited and Article 151.c: “any fraudulent conduct or any act prejudicial to the interests of any competition or to the interests of motorsport generally [can be punished]”
In a thinly veiled message over the radio by race engineer Rob Smedley, Massa was told to make way for team-mate Fernando Alonso: “Fernando is faster than you. Can you confirm you understand?” Massa complied and, as Alonso went on to win his first victory of the season, Massa was denied what would have been his first victory in almost a year since his near-fatal accident at the Hungarian Grand Prix. This apparent robbery has since opened up a stream of criticism from both sides of the issue, with former team owner Eddie Jordan commenting, “It was very blatant. If Alonso goes on to win the championship by two points it will always be seen to be a sham, where breaking the rules pays off, and that is something that can never be acceptable.”
Domenicali counters that Ferrari was merely updating Massa on race developments, while other critics have argued that team orders have and always will be a part of the racing experience. Meanwhile, the decision to let Ferrari be for the remainder of the season seems to be built on the basis that any further penalties could ruin championship hopes for the likes of Alonso, who has been a serious contender throughout.
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