Team Orders at Ferrari?

[RichardHessels]

Well that example.. not really. Max was 1.1 behind Lewis after closing in and being able to use DRS at 1.0. But Max by himself, went off and wide, then was 3.5 back, then clawed back to 1.4 behind Lewis towards the end.

So the chance to overtake was never there in the end.

Indeed, Hamilton just left a minimal gap, but when needed he could push a bit more to extend his lead with a 2 second margin.

Lets see how long they can keep Leclerc behind Vettel, before they realise he is the faster driver.

 

[Paul Sutton]

All i can say is this team orders crap is just not racing you go out to win not to be told what to do or how to race. What is with this team order garbage any way do the drivers get upset and throw a tantrum if they don't win, WHAAAA it's not fair he beat me Whaaaa.
Sorry just don't get it and don't want to and also don't watch it ether.

 

[Terry Rock]

"Charles Leclerc put up a late race challenge against his team mate, but suddenly dropped back - are team orders at play already?"
It rather does appear so...doesn't it.
The closure rate Leclerc had over Vettel...only to drop back and 'hold station' without having mechanical issues certainly would suggest that.
If that is indeed the case, it would be very bad for this young man.
It is the first race of the season so if indeed that was the case, they're basically stating that even before we get to a point of mathematical elimination, Ferrari has already made the decision for him.
That can't be a good feeling for any driver.
It would be good to hear what was being discussed between him and the pits prior to confirming if he should stay behind.

 

[Terry Rock]

One thing I don't get is why Ferrari didn't pit Charles for a fastest lap in the end?

If I were the Ferrari team principal, I would not have pitted him either.
You have to understand, while yes...he had a pit-stop lead, often times things can go horribly wrong afterward (ask Grosjean)...loose wheel, etc...
Better to keep his rhythm, stay where he was and consolidate the points he already had in hand.

 

[InsaneOzzie]

Whatever happened to the phrase "May the best man win" Team orders stifled what was a great display of what young talented drivers like LeClerc can achieve.
Team orders suck!

 

[RichardHessels]

All i can say is this team orders crap is just not racing you go out to win not to be told what to do or how to race. What is with this team order garbage any way do the drivers get upset and throw a tantrum if they don't win, WHAAAA it's not fair he beat me Whaaaa.
Sorry just don't get it and don't want to and also don't watch it ether.

Why do you thing they are talking about racing-teams instead of indviduals. A racing team consists of hundreds of people. There are bigger stakes as the glory of overtaking your teammate.
So the team end up with the same points and a (already) even more pi**ed-off 1st driver.

 

[F1Aussie]

Well you could submit an argument that Vettel lost the WDC last year due to Ferrari's failures at team orders, unlike Merc who used them a lot.
So i can understand why they have done it, LeClerc is young and in a great car / team, he'll not lose too much sleep over it i doubt.

It does show that when Bottas has the same kit as Lewis and no team orders, he has the beating of him...

You could also argue that Ferrari lost it by their regular cockups and Vettel's numerous brain fades. Mercedes and Hamilton had none of those, that was the difference.

 

[jtlarsh]

I don't see an issue here. Yes, Charles was faster. However... F1 is a team sport. In these teams, there is a #1 and #2 driver. A lot of teams, especially Ferrari want to protect that #1 driver, and their cars as a whole. There is a lot of money at stake, so if telling Charles to back off is best for the team, then so be it. Not to mention, im sure Charles was well aware of how Ferrari is with team orders when he signed the contract.

 

[ram10]

One thing I don't get is why Ferrari didn't pit Charles for a fastest lap in the end?

Totally agree with you. If they gave stupid order to Charles don't pass Vettel, then they should have at least pitted both drivers with fresh soft tyres with 3 laps remaining for 2 classification laps, they were 36s ahead of magnussen, they would've easily beat 1.25.5 and take 1 point from mercedes.

 

[Diogo Goetz Brand]

Boardradio LeClerc :

https://twitter.com/i/status/1107178454175436800

So there's concrete evidence that team orders were in play, yet most people voted No, and then comment "Oh Vettel is so awesome for letting Ferrari hire a fast driver to be his teammate, Hamilton is a coward, he'd never allow Mercedes to hire a fast teammate".

If any Vettel fan could tell me what they smoke, I'd be really interested to know.

 

[BrainsBush]

So there's concrete evidence that team orders were in play, yet most people voted No, and then comment "Oh Vettel is so awesome for letting Ferrari hire a fast driver to be his teammate, Hamilton is a Coward, he'd never allow Mercedes to hire a fast teammate".

If any Vettel fan could tell me what they smoke, I'd be really interested to know.

Plz read the question again --> it is not the question if they did or did not gave team orders. We all know they did. The question is do you think it is right or not?

If you smoke something be sure it is good quality Because we know. this is smoking Valhalla here

 

[Diogo Goetz Brand]

Plz read the question again --> it is not the question if they did or did not gave team orders. We all know they did. The question is do you think it is right or not?

If you smoke something be sure it is good quality Because we know. this is smoking Valhalla here

So the stuff I'm smoking is probably not so good, I can't even read properly.

 

[Jan Larsen]

Who cares really, their pace was so shockingly poor its unbelievable.

 

[samcar304]

Reminds me of Malaysia 2013 with Hamilton and Rosberg. Team messes up strategy and forces the other driver to drive more conservatively and due to that strategy they hold back the charging driver from behind. In both cases Rosberg and Leclerc.

 

[Short_Circut]

Not that big of an issue atm. Ferrari would gain pretty much nothing letting them race at this stage since they're not fighting for the win or a podium, + the risks outweigh the rewards. Should've pitted either one of them in but they did not do it to avoid any risks so who knows

 

[delpinsky]

They don't know...
How is it even possible they didn't know Ferrari had no pace at all...
The made an anonymous race. Never in the position to put some danger to anyone.

2 Mercedes, 1 Red Bull and 2 Ferrari and then... kilometers of desert between them and the other cars. And yet Ferrari was way behind Red Bull.

Sad Ferrari fan.
Hope Binotto and the whole team, they will work hard as Mercedes did last season, after two wins by Ferrari.
But I fear this season is already cursed for Ferrari. I hope to be wrong, though.

p.s.
If only they pitted Leclerc to try for the Fastest Lap extra point!

 

[NDG]

LOL who cares? After they realize the gap in pace with Merc shown by Bottas. Even Honda outdone them? Wut? They have a lot more to figure out and fix than thinking twice with the team orders.

Anyone in Ferrari's shoes will do the exact same call. Fanbois don't belong in the pitwall. 4 world titles VS a sophomore? Who do you go to when doing damage control?

 

[Patrik Marek]

One thing I don't get is why Ferrari didn't pit Charles for a fastest lap in the end?

I would have pittet Vettel actually since he would lose the place to LeClerc anyway and he had enough get to not be overtaken by driver behind LeClerc

to the thread, yes they have EVERY right to decide who they want to finish ahead of their driver

it's not fair, not great for sport, but they have the right and they used it

 

[Patrik Marek]

What I hate the most though is all the BS talk from Mercedes, how Ferrari and other teams are strong this year, and how it's going to be a challenge, and then they just breeze through to another one / two oh well

no point trying to be saying that Ferrari won't be able to match Mercedes this year after one race, but doesn't look too good

 

[snyperal]

Last season the quali gap in Aus was the same and yet the Ferrari proved to be the superior car. If it wasn't for team fluffs and a mentally weak Seb then they would have been champions.

Team orders at this early is a stretch, but there is a pecking order.