In Austria Ferrari came in for plenty of criticism over the way in which it handled its team orders giving the race to points-leader Michael Schumacher. By waiting until the very last few yards of the race before giving Rubens Barrichello the order to move aside for his teammate they felt that they were being fairer to Barrichello by showing the world that he could easily have won if not for the orders. Of course it also showed the world exactly what was going on and quite a few people were outraged at the blatant way in which Ferrari manipulated the result.
Several people have suggested that Barrichello only led to the final lap because Schumacher had no need to challenge him as he already knew that he would eventually be given the win and, while that is another matter, it is well known that the two teammates are forbidden to race each other.
After the event Ferrari team boss Jean Todt was quite open about the fact that there were many less obvious ways in which the desired result could have been managed — such as an extra long pit-stop for some unnecessary fuel — but he felt that this way was more honest and better for Barrichello.
In fact team orders are quite acceptable by current FIA rules and the impending inquiry and possible punishment will have to, publicly at least, focus on the charade by which Schumacher pushed Barrichello onto the winner’s position on top of the podium during the prize giving ceremonies rather than their on-track tactics.
At today’s European GP in Germany the two Ferraris were easily the class of the field and, for most of the race, they were at least 30 seconds in front of their nearest rival. The dilemma for Ferrari must have been that it was Barrichello and not Schumacher who got the better start, passed both of the Williams on the first lap, and then led the rest of the race.
At one point when Schumacher had been following Barrichello for a while he appeared to lose concentration and spun out. He had no difficulty in erasing the over nine second gap that opened up between him and his teammate but then he seemed quite content to just fall back into place behind him again.
The race was one of the most exciting in years but unfortunately the excitement wasn’t on the track it was over whether or not Jean Todt would again tell Barrichello to move over and let his teammate pass. The TV commentators in the U.S. and the world feed director in Germany were obviously enthralled with the possibilities as the discussion and the camera kept focussing on the two buttons on Todt’s belt which allow him to talk to each of his drivers. One point of view was that, with their appearance before the F1 ruling body in Paris on Wednesday just days away, Ferrari would have to be consistent to show that they did not believe they had done anything wrong in Austria. The other view, of course, was that they would not dare to repeat the offense right before the inquiry and would do something to appease the FIA. Not lost on anybody was the fact that at the midway point in the season they were dozens of points ahead of everyone else and apparently unstoppable.
In the end for whatever reason Barrichello was allowed to win the second Grand Prix of his career with Schumacher less than three-tenths of a second behind him.
Now Rubens Barrichello is a very amiable and popular driver and there is certainly a feeling that he was “owed” a win so there probably won’t be as much of an outcry this time but this result, while more popular, was no more genuine than the one in Austria and the German fans who had come to see their beloved “Schumi” win his 60th Grand Prix on home ground will be the ones who feel cheated.
When the widely touted best driver of his time can make up a ten second deficit in a few laps just to meekly fall into single file like he was driving to a Sunday school picnic it is obvious that he is not trying very hard. Not once in the following laps did Schumacher pressure Barrichello or even move out of line to take a look at a passing opportunity.
Obviously when a team is looking at a certain 1-2 finish and 16 more championship points it must tell its drivers to be careful and not take any unnecessary risks which might throw it all away by wrecking both cars but it would still be nice to see at least a little hint of a challenge.
In other racing series where teams are allowed to have different sponsors for each of their cars this problem couldn’t arise as each sponsor would demand that their driver do the best that he could to win and team orders to the contrary wouldn’t even be an issue.
Perhaps the problem is that Formula One racing is just too much of a team sport with too many of the principals more concerned with securing the Constructors’ Championship than they are with providing their paying fans with something worth watching.
Ferrari principals and drivers have said that when the championships are decided the racing will begin and so, as much as I hate to say it, I am looking forward to the day that Michael Schumacher wins his fifth World Championship and we finally get to see some real competition. Thankfully since Schumacher already has 76 out of a possible 90 points and a 46 point lead over his closest rival we may not have long to wait.