Ferrari were accused of cheating after the team asked Felipe Massa to allow Fernando Alonso past and lead a one-two victory in Germany.
Team orders have been outlawed in Formula One since 2002, when Ferrari stage-managed the result of that year's Austrian Grand Prix in Michael Schumacher's favour. It's a difficult thing to police, with many teams using codes to issue instructions. But there was little code used when Massa's engineer, Rob Smedley, told his man: "Fernando is faster than you. Can you confirm you understand this message?" After Massa yielded on lap 49, Smedley radioed "sorry".
Team boss Stefano Domenicalli denies this was an order, merely a "briefing on the situation."
It comes one year to the day that Massa nearly died on-track in Budapest. It would have been a wonderful reward. On the podium, Felipe looked like he needed a hug. When Alonso took the chequered flag he was quick to ask his team "how is Felipe?"
Ferrari needed this win after months of lackluster results. It was an impressive display, with Red Bull hardly getting a look in and the field lapped up to seventh place.
But rival teams are set to protest the result and the FIA are investigating. This could be a test of Jean Todt's presidency. In the post-race press conference there was no applause - a few boos and some tough questions aimed at Alonso. Massa stated that he had been struggling on the hard compound tyres, which allowed Alonso past. But he put his real message across when he said: "I'm professional, and today I showed how professional I am. Everybody saw today I can win races."
Alonso was 31 points ahead of Massa coming into this weekend, and is therefore Ferrari's main hope when it comes to the title. Therefore, Ferrari will argue it was a pragmatic decision. Leading up to the position change, Domenicalli was waving his arms around as he sat on the pitwall, while chief engineer Chris Dyer urged his boss to wait. Once Alonso went P1, the Ferrari brass sat in silence with their arms crossed.
"We have seen team mates crash into each other, losing 42 points. Today Ferrari has 42 points in the pocket," Alonso justified.
For Smedley, it was a difficult day. On the slow-down lap, the Yorkshireman shared some kind words: "Felipe Massa is back in business. Very magnanimous. You won't have any idea what that word means, but I'll explain it to you later..."
Rob Smedley is one awesome man....Huge respect for his last radio message. Way to motivate your driver and cheer him up at the same time.
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Besides the F1 driver, who are the other people on the team?
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