Formula One: The Alonso Massa synergy
The concept of synergy in the practical world is simple. Two plus two, equals five. This is to reflect that the unified force applied by two parties is greater than their respective efforts. Ferrari’s synergy on the other hand was subject to more criticism than pats on the back for efficiency.
Ferrari F1 secured a rather controversial one-two at the German Grand Prix. The Italian team was fined $ 100,000 by the formula one regulating body on the grounds of allegedly instructing Felipe Massa to let Fernando Alonso overtake him and subsequently win the race.
Ferrari remained adamant that it was simply down to a driver decision. On the other hand, Massa’s demeanor at the end of the race suggested otherwise. Also, the Brazilian’s race engineer’s exact words on the radio were, "OK, so, Fernando is faster than you. Can you confirm you understood that message?"
This is plain indication of the certain amount of grey exploited by the Formula One team. It wasn’t a direct order to slow down and let his team mate overtake him. On those grounds, Ferrari does have a case. On the other hand, the order itself seems imbalanced. Informing the Brazilian that the second place man was faster than him should have been followed by perhaps, a suggestion to match his pace. Or a rather, ‘can you confirm that’ seems ample. It’s the last three syllables that seem fishy. Was it code for something they had previously settled down? It might be fair to believe that even a third party might find the message implying other than its original content.
This is not the first time Ferrari has been accused of such actions. The 2002 season saw a similar event; only then Michael Schumacher was on course to win the championship while Rubens Barrichello(another Brazilian coincidently) had to slow down to let him through – The reason behind the introduction of article 39.1 which prohibits team orders that interfere with a race result.
McLaren chief Martin Whitmarsh made no attempts to keep views on the incident bottled up.
“You can go back to the late 90s and all sorts of times when things have happened but we decide to race. That's my decision and that is what we want to do. Others do what they want and it's for the FIA and Ferrari to determine what they think is right. We were racing our two guys until the end” said Mr. Martin Whitmarsh.
Similar views were echoed by the Red Bull Racing boss, Christian Horner, who argued that it was the clearest team order he had ever seen in his time in Formula 1. He further commented that he would have rather let his drivers race it out than dictate the outcome from pit lane.
While McLaren Mercedes have enjoyed a fair level of harmony between both British drivers, Red Bull Racing finds itself in the juncture of a civil war between Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel. It is also rather interesting to point out that the bitterness originated at the Turkish Grand Prix when Vettel collided into Webber – The instruction to ‘race’ amounted to a lone podium position for the constructors instead of a possible 1-2. The team could be criticized for preferential treatment when Vettel was given the front wing of Webber’s car at Silverstone.
Persistent criticism in the formula one world gave birth to the ‘Bernie Ecclestone’ school of thought.
"I believe what people do when they are inside the team and how they run their team is up to them. Of course, if a team does something that's dangerous then they're going to be in trouble. Otherwise, get on with it."
Ecclestone went on to admit that laws against team orders need to be reviewed. However, whether these thoughts are the sincere thoughts of a Formula One audience or a market oriented CEO’s ploy to keep the sport in the spotlight (of which he happens to be a noticeable shareholder as well) remains to be seen.
The story follows a simple conclusion - If teams were allowed to internally dictate places, then sadly, Formula One would only have 12 cars racing.
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