Scuderia_Russ wrote:Team orders are banned btw!
Ever since Reubens was openly ordered to slow down and allow Shu to pass and win in Austria, that type of "team orders" is closely monitered by the FIA with the penalty of severe repercussions. But teammates are teammates, they are under certain "instructions". In Williams, it appears the only directive they have is not to take each other out.
Before each race, the team principals all sit down and have a pre-race strategy meeting. It's a serious and important part of the race, and such things as pit stop strategies, analysis of competitors, to expectations and discussions of possible scenarios are discussed.
I remember when Coulthard and Hakkinen were in McLaren they once mentioned an agreement that whoever was in the lead at a certain point in the race, the other would just follow along and not make a serious attempt to pass. So all teams do it to, each in their own ways. I hear accusations against Ferrari, but no one has complained about SA, where Sato is also considered the number one driver, and gets all the perks first. If Ferrari are guilty of anything, it is being successful, and publicly stating that Shu is the number one driver.
So what if Massa probably gave way to Shu? He's the number two driver and the ultimate sin would be to be stupidly aggressive and take himself and Shu out in the first corner.
As far as I'm concerned, Massa drove a great, smart race. He played a big part in Shu's victory, from dogging Alonso, to not taking Shu out in the first corner. I don't have a problem with that, Massa just did what he was hired for, and he did it very well.
