Formula One glamour team Ferrari were battling to salvage their reputation yesterday after being accused of using team orders to manufacture a German Grand Prix victory for Fernando Alonso.
Formula One glamour team Ferrari were battling to salvage their reputation yesterday after being accused of using team orders to manufacture a German Grand Prix victory for Fernando Alonso.
The Italian giants were fined $ 100,000 for breaching sporting regulations after double world champion Alonso was allowed by teammate Felipe Massa to pass 18 laps from the end despite the Brazilian having led since the start.
Although the FIA, the sport's governing body, said the Ferrari 1-2 result will stand, the team must still appear before the World Motor Sport Council.
Team orders were banned eight years ago after the infamous incident at the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix when Ferrari instructed race leader Rubens Barrichello to pull over and allow Michael Schumacher to pass and win the race.
On Sunday, Massa was effectively ordered by race engineer Rob Smedley to let Alonso through as the Spaniard was the quicker driver. Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali insisted that there were no team orders and that it was Massa's decision to let Alonso past.
"We gave information to the driver and it was his decision to decide how to react" he said.
Massa clearly upset by the incident, bit his tongue and claimed that it was his decision. "I didn't have a good pace on the hard tyres and Fernando was quicker. It was my decision," Massa said.u00a0 Alonso said there were no team orders. "There are no team orders," said Alonso.
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"I was suprised when I saw Felipe having a problem ufffd I thought it was a gear problem but after hearing Felipe, he was struggling with the hard tyres."
Meanwhile, Red Bull boss Christian Horner said that Ferrari's antics were an obvious case of team orders he had ever seen. "I have to say, that was probably the clearest team order I've ever seen," he said, "especially when you've got the team apologising to a driver.
"The regulations are pretty clear that team orders aren't allowed and it looked like a team order."
Horner added that his Red Bull team would not have acted in the same way.
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