I think this whole banning of team orders is problematic. First of all, I agree that Ferrari should be punished- they broke the rules as they stand, and I agree that someone winning a race, any race, by merit of being 'let through' makes somewhat of a mockery of the victory. Massa should have won the race. However, I fail to see how you can abolish 'team orders' in Formula 1, it is not that kind of environment. When you look at the clinical, rigid commercial environment that these teams operate in, with huge budgets of other peoples money, you can hardly imagine them saying to their drivers- "right, she's all set, just get out there and leather the opposition, including your team mate". It is inevitable that they will have a more measured, and arguably more conservative approach to racing strategy.
Unfortunately, Sunday was a perfect example of how the money has compromised the racing.
What galled me most about it was the circumstances under which it happened. If for example Vettel had been quicker and was closing down the Ferraris fast enough to pass both of them and win the race, then I would have probably given the same team order as they did to allow Alonso a chance to get away, to hang onto any chance of victory for the team. What happened on Sunday however, felt more like someone stealing a kids christmas present from them and then handing it to the spoiled brat who already has everything.
I don't know what the answer is to this one. The team is a team, the team-mates are generally arch enemies. How do you resolve that one?
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