Once again the issue of team orders have raised its ugly head in F1. In the closing laps of the Malaysian Grand Prix last weekend, Sebastian Vettel directly ignored his Red Bull team’s instructions to settle for second and proceeded to challenge and overtake teammate Mark Webber. Webber had turned his engine down and was pretty much a sitting duck to take the race win, much to his team’s, and Webber’s, chagrin. During the same race, there was further controversy when Nico Rosberg obeyed team orders to stay behind slower teammate Lewis Hamilton to protect the team’s third and fourth places.
This is the latest in a long line of controversies over team orders, the most famous of which was the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix incident when Rubens Barrichello was told to move over at the final corner to give the win to teammate Michael Schumacher. This led to team orders being accused of distorting the competition of the sport. Another controversy in Germany in 2010 showed the ban to be unenforceable when Felipe Massa was given the message that “Fernando is faster than you”, interpreted by many commentators as a message to let team mate Fernando Alonso through. Alonso overtook Massa shortly afterwards. Despite the controversy, it was decided after this to repeal the ban as the incident had shown that teams were flouting the ban with impunity.
Either way it seems that it’s impossible to prevent controversy. Whether teams use orders or not, and whether drivers choose to obey or flout them, orders are always going to create controversy and friction. However, there is no way to prevent team orders, indeed they are are an intrinsic and inevitable part of the sport. Even in the 1950s, teammates of Juan Manuel Fangio were implored to give up their cars to the great man if his developed mechanical problems.
Some commentators have praised Vettel’s overtake as that of a ‘true racer’, a driver for whom racing and winning is the ultimate goal. For these purists, team orders are a distortion of true competition between drivers and a desecration of the sport itself, something that cheats fans out of excitement and action. Some argue that team orders show that F1 isn’t a sport at all with the races reduced to pre-determined processions, although such a romantic view is naive and fails to grasp the true nature of the sport.
F1 is pretty much unique in that is both a team and individual sport, in which the drivers, while competing for individual glory, are also part of a large team of hundreds of designers, mechanics, engineers and many others without whom the sport could not exist. For many teams, their priority is the constructor’s championship because it determines their placing from which prize money is awarded. Sometimes this may lead to conflicting objectives for drivers and teams which some argue are irreconcilable. In my opinion, however, this adds rather than takes away from the sport as it includes another layer of complexity and intrigue to a unique sport that can be enjoyed on multiple levels, from certain fans just watching in hope of a pile up all the way to those who are more interested in the design process and technology.
Team orders are, like it or not, an inevitable part of the sport. The staggering level of investment both financially and in man-hours necessitates and justifies them. It would be nothing short of insanity to see this investment go up in smoke if both cars in a team were to collide with each other. What must have really upset Vettel’s bosses is that both they and him knew that the Red Bulls were struggling with tire wear during the weekend and were pretty marginal on their tires holding out until the end of the race. Vettel, by choosing to overtake, could have forced both cars to have gone ‘over the cliff’, potentially jeopardising their one-two finish.
Vettels no doubt showed a ruthless streak and an unquenching desire to win that has characterised many of the great champions of the past. It is easy to draw parallels to the other dominant German driver, Michael Schumacher, who was involved in numerous controversial incidents during his career. This was most famouuly seen when he drove into Damon Hill to win the 1994 Championship. Many other greats such as Senna, Prost, Piquet and arguably even Fangio also had such traits.
It is easy to criticise and demonise such behaviour, but a ruthless and selfish nature is something held by many great F1 drivers; if he wins the championship by 7 points of less he probably will have justified the decision to himself and his team. Indeed, Vettel’s ruthlessness showed exactly why he is F1’s youngest three time champion. Although it should be noted that even Schumacher and Senna, when on the rare occasions they were asked to, would (reluctantly) drive for their teammates and not themselves.
However, Vettel’s conduct has struck right at the heart of the very structures and values underpinning a modern motor racing team and in the long run may prove counter-productive to himself. The best example of what can go wrong was the fallout between Ferrari drivers Didier Pironi and Gilles Villeneuve in 1982. During the later stages of the San Marino Grand Prix, Villeneuve was leading Pironi and the team manager decided that was the position the two cars would finish in. Despite this order, Pironi overtook the unsuspecting Villeneuve claiming to have misunderstood the instructions and went on to win the race. Villeneuve was furious and two weeks later, while pushing incredibly hard to beat the hated Pironi’s time in qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix in Zolder, he crashed and died.
Although Vettel and Webber’s feud is unlikely to end that badly, it is likely to severely undermine trust and cohesion within the team, particularly between the respective driver’s engineers and mechanics, which could prove damaging. He has also ensured that in the future Webber is unlikely to go out of his way to help Vettel which may prove costly at the end of the season. F1 history has shown us that often when two drivers in the same team are at each other’s throats it’s the third man who comes out on top; Vettel’s short-sightedness may have actually cost him more points than he gained.
The damage to Vettel’s reputation may be the lasting legacy of the whole debacle. Already not an overly popular driver, mainly due to his recent dominance, Vettel has reopened the favourite narrative of the powerful British F1 media, that of the ‘Dastardly German’ previously occupied by Schumacher. Although this negative image won’t prevent him from being successful, it may have an effect on how his legacy is viewed, something which F1 drivers despite their protestations are often obsessed with. Despite being the most successful and in my view the greatest driver of all time, Schumacher is not truly appreciated and does not get the credit he deserves due to his past conduct and unpopular reputation. With his latest behaviour Vettel is in danger of going down the same path, which would be a shame as he is by far the greatest talent we have seen since Schumacher.