After a quick start from third on the grid, Felipe Massa led the German Grand Prix race, his best showing since returning from injury last year. And the only thing standing between him and victory was his teammate...and his team.What sets teams like McLaren and Red Bull apart from Ferrari is that both have dealt with the competition between drivers who both want to win, and done it without looking like scumbags. Yesterday, Ferrari not only played favorites, but did it in such an obvious, disgusting way that it clearly tarnished both the race results and the sport. On lap 49, Fernando Alonso "passed" Massa, and the seven extra points his finish earned him for the driver's standings (without changing their earned constructor's points) cost the team $100,000 in fines.
I lost respect for them after they way they bungled their roster and ousted Kimi Raikonnen. This year, Alonso has been even more insufferable with his crying and complaining, and if there's any less I can like them, that's where I'm at. I noted that Massa likely got resigned because he wasn't rocking the boat for Ferrari's new favorite son...guess he forgot his place and finally found his balls over the weekend. But rather than celebrate him returning to form, it was a smackdown.
In a tense and hostile news conference, Massa faced questions about whether he was now number two at the team while Alonso fended off suggestions that the win was as tainted as the one he took in Singapore in 2008 after Brazilian team mate Nelson Piquet crashed his Renault deliberately to help him. Massa said he had made the decision himself, saying he was struggling with the hard tyres, the radio traffic suggested a different story. "So, Fernando is faster than you," his race engineer, Rob Smedley told him. After Alonso passed him, Smedley added: "Good lad. Just stick with it now. Sorry." Smedley later said the Brazilian had been "very, very, very magnanimous". After hearing from both drivers and Ferrari team manager, the four race stewards found Ferrari had broken the rules. In addition to the fine, the team were referred to the FIA's world motorsport council, which can impose unlimited penalties.
Other team managers had little support for their rival. "I have to say that is the clearest team order I've ever seen," said Red Bull principle Christian Horner. "It's wrong for the sport. The drivers should have been allowed to race," he added calling the incident "a shame for F1". McLaren head Martin Whitmarsh refused to get drawn into the debate, saying he would speak to the team in private. Both teams lead Ferrari in points and have had to fend off questions about favoritism between their own drivers this season, but never has there something so obvious during a race.
Lotus head Mike Gascoyne said he had sympathy for Ferrari but the gesture had been too blatant. "There's always been team orders in Formula One," he said. "The bottom line is - if you are going to do it, do it far more cleverly than that". Dirty little secret or not, memories of the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix were stirred up: Rubens Barrichello was ordered to let Ferrari (surprise!) teammate Michael Schumacher win, and that notorious incident led to team orders being banned. Not surprisingly, Schumi "understood" his former employer's decision, but Barrichello cleverly stayed quiet on the matter.
Former Ferrari driver Niki Lauda, however, hit out at the team. “This was the most stupid thing I have ever seen from Ferrari," he said. "Why did they do it? They did not need to because the championship is alive for another eight races. Why could Massa not have a chance to win, a year since he had the accident that could have cost his life?" He also attacked Alonso for the manner in which he dealt with the press in the immediate aftermath of the race – when he denied that team orders had been used. "I've never heard a driver talk such bullshit," he said. "He has no character." Damn, son! I like me some Niki Lauda!
Ferrari big boss Luca di Montezemolo basically admitted to the team orders, and then called out critics for their hypocrisy, which is a stupid defense tactic. "I simply reaffirm what I have always maintained, which is that our drivers are very well aware, and it is something they have to stick to, that if one races for Ferrari, then the interests of the team come before those of the individual."
There have been several posts, criticisms and denials since the race, which show the scheme for what it is - pathetic.
1 comment:
I guess a two year contract isn't much leverage for Massa. It would've been nice to see him completely ignore the order and take the top spot-- force Alonso to try to overtake. My Massa respect meter would've exploded. Now I just feel sorry for him. These drivers sell their souls to drive red cars.
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