Although the pub where I was watching the German Grand Prix did not have sound (yes, that’s right, Formula One in a pub…), it was painfully obvious what Massa had done when he slightly let off the pedal and Alonso slipped by. One lap before this race leader swap, Rob Smedley, Massa’s race engineer ‘informed’ his driver that Alonso was faster than him and asked him to confirm whether this was understood. On paper this sounds completely legitimate, however it’s only when you weigh certain things up that 2 and 2 add up to 5 in terms of Ferrari’s intent.
For a start, I’ve never heard Smedley ever speak as sombrely and with as much regret in his voice. As well, Massa did not actually provide a confirmation to this message; the only immediate contact after this on the radio was from Smedley saying “Ok… Good lad… Sorry”. Finally, from all accounts, Alonso was effectively throwing his toys out of the pram on the radio (to quote the way one F1 fan, although maybe not Alonso’s, on Sky Sports’ forum in response to the Grand Prix’s events) right up until the moment he was gifted the lead.
Underneath are some of the other fans’ impressions (beware: bias warning):
“Ferrari are once again allowed to hold on to a victory that makes a nonsense of the sport F1”
“The rule is ridiculous. F1 is a TEAM sport. Why you’d bring in a rule that stops the drivers working as a TEAM is completely beyond me.”
“F1 is becoming a farce. The rules and their interpretations change every year and then you get this sort of result. It’s obvious that this is no longer a sport, it’s just business now.”
“What a lot of fuss about nothing!! The WRC teams do this openly all the time on a regular basis. They call it TEAM strategy!! It is TEAM sport.”
(And finally stating the obvious): “Be annoying if you had money on Massa to win!”
So what of my thoughts? During the race and directly after it, I was of the opinion that the use of team orders was completely wrong; Massa aced the start, seeming like he had twice as much horsepower as anyone else on the grid, and was in control of the race right up until the fateful moment. Also, it was a bit more of a procession than some of the more exciting races we’ve seen this year and you might say that this decision affected it to a greater degree. But mulling it over, as well as reading countless conflicting views on the subject (see above for the most passionate ones, haha), I have to admit I’m fairly undecided as to whether it’s a good or bad thing that team orders were used. You have to weigh up the common sense sentiment, swaying towards the idea that Alonso was significantly ahead in the championship with the more ‘perfect world’ attitude that Massa deserved the top step on the podium.
However whether it’s right or wrong for the sport and the racing, the fact remains that Ferrari broke article 39.1 (geeky, I know) of the regulations and were fined $100,000 accordingly.
I thought I’d end this rather vaguely weighted blog with the thoughts of a person who’s more than qualified to give judgement about the theme of team orders as he’s the reason the current rules banning it are in operation in the first place:
"I have been criticised in the past for exactly that (using team orders) and I have to say that I would do exactly the same if I was in their situation. At the end of the day, what are we here for? It's fighting for a championship and there is only one that can win it.”
Any thoughts on who? Well you don’t win seven world championships by being Mr nice guy all the time…
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