Debate: Should team orders be banned?
Should team orders be banned?
Yesterday the FIA World Council confirmed the current ban on team orders in Formula One will be lifted for the 2011 season. Article 39.1 of the Sporting Regulations was introduced in 2002 and stated “team orders which interfere with a race result are prohibited”. This restriction on controversial tactics will now be removed.
The case for lifting the ban on team orders
Team orders have always been a part of Formula One because, ultimately, it is a team sport. All team sports feature decisions made by coaches or managers that will benefit a team, but may disadvantage an individual within in it, so occasionally the same thing will happen in Grand Prix racing and it’s no big deal. The ban on team orders is also very hard to police as evidenced earlier this year.
The case against lifting the ban on team orders
Felipe Massa was robbed of a very deserving victory in the German Grand Prix this year and there have been other similar situations in the past. Formula One is about racing and fighting for victory, and not about having wins handed around like meaningless gifts. Manipulated race results are insulting to fans and lessen the value of the winning the Drivers World Championship.
What do you think? Have you say below – should team orders be banned?
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Last Comment Posted »
In theory that's how it should be Martin, but un-police-able in reality.
Teams just have to be better prepared to conduct team orders so they...
by Jimmy@enterF1
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Recent comments on this article:
#1 MartyP | 11 Dec 2010, 00:58 Reply »
I think I'm in a minority here but I don't have anything against team orders. I think a number of specific factors in Hockenheim made the Alonso/Massa drama look much worse than it really was and resulted in a lot of overreaction. Ferrari should have been punished for breaking the rule, and should have been honest about what they did, but in the same way that I don't mind a football coach moving his players around to increase his team's chance of winning, I don't have an issue with Ferrari, or anyone else, adjusting their cars to help their championship campaign (as long as they're open about it). This year was the first time since 2002 we had any drama with team orders so one controversy every eight years doesn't sound too bad to me.
I don't like the sort of team orders that were used in Jerez 97 or Melbourne 98 because they had no bearing on the World Championship, and were subject to agreements that took place before the race. That borders on race fixing, and thankfully this will still be outlawed by the FIA's International Sporting Code.
#2 Hannah | 11 Dec 2010, 10:36 Reply »
At the end of the day, team orders are always going to happen regardless of if the rule is there or not. My issue with the Ferrari debacle was the way they so blatantly did it and then denied it, making things worse for themselves. If they'd handled it in a more discreet way then maybe it wouldn't have caused the hullabaloo it did. Formula One is first and foremost a team sport, so if something has to be done for the good of the team, then so be it. But then the Drivers' Championship complicates matters as within the team you have two drivers wanting to beat each other, and I think they should be allowed to race for the position, rather than just be handed it by the team.
Saying that, I don't like team orders, so don't like the fact that they are now 'legal'. As long as we don't see more blantant cases then hopefully it won't be so bad, but we don't want to just see drivers slowing down and letting their team-mate pass.
At least the infamous Article 151c is in place for the more extreme cases...
#3 Sadhbh | 11 Dec 2010, 10:51 Reply »
I don't really agree with them, but they do work in certain places like in the final race of the year.
I don't think they should be banned because it's practically impossible to stop team using them as we've seen with Ferrari and Renault in the past.
I think they should be regulated so that like Hannah said we don't get incidents like Austria 2002 and obvious taking over.
#4 Jimmy@enterF1 | 11 Dec 2010, 12:33 Reply »
Totally agree they have a place in F1 but ultimately the German GP was handled terribly. You had Massa who was utterly gutted not to have won, visibly distressed by it all.... then having to say it was fine, it was for the team blah blah blah - he couldn't even voice his opinion or true feelings on it.
That's why it was a farce and shameful on Ferrari.
#5 MartyP | 13 Dec 2010, 04:56 Reply »
Maybe it might be worthwhile to ban team orders until the last few races of the season? That way they can only be used when the title is really on the line.
#6 Jimmy@enterF1 | 15 Dec 2010, 14:48 Reply »
In theory that's how it should be Martin, but un-police-able in reality.
Teams just have to be better prepared to conduct team orders so they don't put the sport into disrepute, seeing as that's the only crime that can be committed now!
Ferrari in particular just need Massa to be absolutely clear before a race that if he is ahead of Alonso and times suggest he is holding him up, he has to move over..... WITHOUT the bluntness from Rob S and then the apologies which gave it all away....
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