andrew wrote:Shrieker wrote:But of course Schumi abused it so badly it brought the sport into disrepute and team tactics had to be banned. To me it's Schumacher's fault.
Don't see how you can seriously blame a driver. It is the team that puts out the orders. And why single out Schumacher? Coulthard had to pull over twice (at least) for Hakinnen, then there was Spa 98 where a Ferrari and McLaren came together (how it happend is a whole debate in itself), the Jordans finish stunk a bit also, McLaren in Turkey, the list goes on.
The thing about Austria 2002 was yes it stunk and I didn't like it as much as the next person but if you watch the podium ceremony, you will see what the drivers thought of it, in fact the drivers were fined for Schumacher trying to put Barrichello on the top step. Somehow I didn't expect to see Alonso do that, nor do I expect to see Alonso return the favour (as Schumacher did in the US GP).
I want to make myself totally clear here. I despise Alonso. Much of it has got something to do with him having a transformation from this silent humble guy to a spoilt brat when he won the title. Yeah, surely you're entitled to say - at least some pampering when you've become the F1 world champion, but someone with a true character will put it behind quickly and return to being his usual self. But in Alonso's case it just got worse and worse as further controversy surfaced. It was as if a stinking cloud was following him every step of the way.
That said, I think there was NOTHING WRONG ethically with what Ferrari did today. Let's be honest - as good a driver Massa is, we all know he has his 'bloody quick' days when no one can touch him; but on other races he just looks average. Alonso is a better candidate for winning the title. And they're behind with a marginal gap in the point standings. What do you expect them to do? Of course if you're a hard-core fan of written rules and laws -even when they're against basic logic- today's event should've looked like an abomination to you.
If Massa was convincingly faster than Alonso today and had Ferrari still ordered him to cede his position, it would've looked wrong from an ethical point of view too.
That was the problem in Schumacher's case. What made it worse is that he was the main protagonist behind the team orders and why they were abused so badly. We all know Schumi chose his team mates - and probably forced 'special' articles in their contracts. If the driver didn't accept this 'article' in his contract, he wouldn't be driving alongside Schumi. If Ferrari wasn't willing to cooperate with Schumi, he'd just drive for another team and carry his crew with him - which he brought along from Benetton. Simple as that. And of course Ferrari couldn't afford it so they bowed to his will.
That's why I'm accusing one certain individual. Team orders were implemented in several cases before Schumacher but his actions brought the sport into disrepute forcing the governing body to entirely ban team tactics.
On top of all that, Schumacher pushing Barrichello to the top step of the podium showed what a hypocrite he was.