Massa: My decision to let Fernando past

[cosworth151]

At Ferrari, covert means that they didn't go on the radio and say, "Ferd can't outdrive you, Felipe Baby, so you'll have to go in the tank for him."

[Warmwater]

Comparing anything to wrestling is over the top.
Suggesting that the team manager could change grid positions is a bit foggy.
If you think that the Drivers Championship is more important than the Constructors Championship perhaps you need to review history & economics.

In most sports there is a category called Most Valuable Player, and another called World Champion Team. Consider Baseball, is the World series winner a team or an individual? Likewise the Soccer World Cup. Any sport where teams are involved the individual is secondary to the team. If you think that the individual players in team sports make any decisions on game strategy, please visit earth the next time you fly by.
To say that the WCC is an "afterthought" to the WDC is naive.

I am amazed that there is so much emphasis on "fan outrage", critisizm is easy when your driver/team loses.
 
Alonso was faster and Massa was a gentleman to allow him through before whats-his-name caught up to them.  If he let him pass only grudgingly, maybe he is a little less a gentleman.
ps I am not a Ferrari fan.

[lkjohnson1950]

I think you're a bit naive if you think the average fan cares more about the WCC than the WDC. People in racing may have a favorite team, but most back a driver, not a team. I was a Lotus fan when Clark, Hill, Rindt, and Andretti drove for them, not so much when Senna was their man. And if you think Alonso was faster, Alia has an interesting post on her blog "La Canto Magnifico" that pretty much buries that theory. There was a lot of back and forth, but generally in clear air Massa was faster. Regardless of that, the rule is no team orders, and no matter how Ferrari denies it it is pretty clear that's what happened here. And it wasn't because Alonso was faster, or they were worried about Vettel, it was because Ferd has a better chance of winning the WDC.

Lonny

[Warmwater]

Umm... I didn'd say or indicate that the average fan roots more for teams than drivers.
What I mean is that in the grand scheme of things, such as attracting sponsorship, advertising, product sales, etc., winning the Constructors Championship is more important to the team than the Driver's Championship.

[lkjohnson1950]

There are a number of sponsors who also follow drivers, like Santander and Alonso. I don't think Ferrari attracts sponsors because they win the WCC. I think they attract sponsors because their drivers win races and the WDC. The news stories at the end of the year say Button wins championship in large caps, and Brawn wins manufacturers title in small letters underneath, if at all.

Lonny

[cosworth151]

I have to disagree about swapping starting positions, Luke. If the good of the team is to be superior to the good of the driver, it would be a natural. For example, it wouldn't be a case of, say, Massa qualifying in 4th and Alonso in 7th. It would be that Ferrari qualified 4th and 7th. The Team Manager would then decided which drive got which slot. It's a logical extension of the theory of team orders.

[Jericoke]

I have to disagree about swapping starting positions, Luke. If the good of the team is to be superior to the good of the driver, it would be a natural. For example, it wouldn't be a case of, say, Massa qualifying in 4th and Alonso in 7th. It would be that Ferrari qualified 4th and 7th. The Team Manager would then decided which drive got which slot. It's a logical extension of the theory of team orders.

I don't currently follow North American autosports as closely as F1... but I do believe that it is the MACHINE that qualifies, not the driver.  IRL or NASCAR would allow a last minute driver swap (I don't know that's ever happened, of if any drivers would actually go for it).  F1 currently requires the DRIVER to qualify, but the rules could change if there is a will to do so.

[Jericoke]

Umm... I didn'd say or indicate that the average fan roots more for teams than drivers.
What I mean is that in the grand scheme of things, such as attracting sponsorship, advertising, product sales, etc., winning the Constructors Championship is more important to the team than the Driver's Championship.

The constructors talk about the WCC, naturally.  It gives them position on the pit lane, and a bigger share of money from FOM.

However, having the WDC on your team counts for far more than the constructor's championship.

Look at the contracts that Villeneuve and Hill got after their championships.

Look at Santander's deal with Ferrari (I don't buy the whole 'with Ferrari Fernando or not' line.)

There are plenty of fans that cheer for a team ahead of a driver.  Tifosi comes to mind.  But Germany and Spain have become huge fans of F1, and I guarantee that HRT and Mercedes aren't the reasons.

[SennaMan]

IMHO F1 should be, first and foremost, a Team Sport.

The vast amount of money and sponsorship is aimed at the team and the cars, not to the individual Prima Donna Driver. Of the hundreds of employees, most are dedicated to the team, not any particular driver.

I firmly believe that Team Orders should be used freely and openly to benefit the team as a whole. There is nothing wrong if one driver's purpose in the race is to assist the other driver. The team manager should be calling the shots, not a driver who has enough to think about just trying to keep the car right side up. Thinking isn't a strong point with most drivers.
[my emphasis]

The Team Manager should have complete power over the events of the day, and should also be more in the spotlight and even be included in the podium press meetings.  Men like Flavio add much flavor to the sport (but deliberately causing a safety car parade might have pushed the envelope a bit).

well put Luke - it happens in cycling all the time and is accepted the team supports a nominated bike rider to win - F1 teams should have this power, especially when the money invested by them is in tens even hundreds of millions of dollars.

[lkjohnson1950]

I'm not sure about the IRL, but in NASCAR I believe you can change drivers, but you go to the rear of the field. They do this fairly often actually, when a driver is running in one of the lower series, but needs to qualify his Cup car at the same time. At Indy, it was always the car that qualified.

Lonny

[cosworth151]

In NASCAR, a substitute driver may take over after the race has started, but the driver who started gets the points. This has been done frequently when a driver near the top of the points is injured.He starts the race, hands off to another driver at the first pit stop, and collects the points at the end of the day.