Unlike their rivals Ferrari, Mclaren-Mercedes do not have a history of team orders, preventing their drivers to race each other. In fact the Silver Arrows team is known to encourage its drivers to compete with each other as long as it doesn’t affect the team’s cause. And the way one interprets this last sentence is probably the reason for the controversy now clouding their victory at Monaco GP 2007.

The last time Mclaren gave a team order was ten years back in 1998, the first race of the year in Australia. The drivers were Mika Hakkinnen and David Coulthard. It was alleged that their radio was tapped in by some one from the outside as Hakkinnen was asked to pit while the team knew nothing about his arrival. As the Finn drove past the bamboozled Mclaren garage, Ron Dennis asked Coulthard to slow down in order to let Mika claim the deserved victory. It helped him sleep peacefully, his conscience being clear, Dennis claimed. But team orders were subsequently banned after the infamous Austrian GP in 2003 when Ferrari asked Rubens Barrichello to pull over and let Michael Schumacher pass.

So what is the controversy this time round? Well, both the drivers Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton were asked to take it easy after their first round of pits stops. Hamilton was brought in three laps early than scheduled for his pit stop, so that he would not be able to make a pass at Alonso after the Spaniard had pitted. It is said that even after his pit stop, the British rookie wanted a shot at P1. But was subsequently, asked by the team to hold his charge. The point to be noted is that the young driver looked unhappy for the first time since he joined Mclaren this season and is reported to have been furious about the decision.

The reason was simple. Hamilton thought he could have overtaken Alonso and won his first ever grand prix. And this is being made an issue by the British press, who want their new kid on the block to win his first race as soon as possible, so that they have more to write about him. But that is where the buck stops. Because in wanting to challenge Alonso, who by the way was in an equally capable car and was himself scorching the circuit, Hamilton displayed his impetuous rookie behaviour. Only a rookie can make the mistake of going over the limit on the streets of Monte Carlo, for all the experienced ones know that Monaco as a grand prix circuit is unforgiving on even the slightest of mistakes, given its narrow roads and twisty streets.

And this is what makes Ron Dennis and Mclaren not guilty at all. On any other circuit on any other day, Hamilton would have been allowed to attack Alonso, as the chances of them taking each other out would have been relatively less. But in a race where Hamilton had already crashed in practice, where the slightest mistake means a crash and where the two drivers were already kissing the barriers umpteen number of times in order to better their lap times, how could have the highly experienced team principal allowed what the rookie wanted and jeopardized the team cause? As the next two races could see Ferrari return to strength at the low downforce circuits of Montreal and Indianapolis, it was only imperative that the Woking based outfit make use of their superiority at this high downforce circuit. With 76 points now, they have a huge advantage of 20 points over Ferrari’s 56. Which means that their rivals would only be catching up in the near future.

Article 151c of the International Sporting Code by the FIA states that ‘by way of any fraudulent conduct, or any act prejudicial to the interests of the interests of motorsport generally, no team orders should get in the way of the drivers ability to win a race or affect the outcome of a race in an unsporting manner’. They intend to listen in on the radio tapes of Mclaren for the Monaco race. But given the reasons implied by Ron Dennis and the unique restrictions imposed on overtaking by this unusual circuit, it is easy to understand that they were not actually team orders but a safety guide as to how to bring in the two cars home safely and earn maximum points available. If only, Hamilton had the maturity to understand this too.

Via: Planet-F1

Via: Planet-F1