Ferrari Drivers Free To Race Against Each Other…
Written by George Katinger · June 19, 2004
…And the moon is made of green cheese! Call me cynical, call me prejudiced against Ferrari, call me Machiavellian, call me a non-believer in the adherence of certain teams to the ban on “Team Orders”. What has me in such a snit?
f1-live.com: Ferrari drivers free to race
The fact that Rubens Barrichello has pipped Michael Schumacher for pole position for the Indianapolis Grand Prix by .177 of a second….and then reading the posted headline. Who are these guys trying to fool? I have no doubt that Rubens can race competitively with Herr Schumacher, and this is not meant as a slam on Ruby Baby. It’s a slam on Ferrari in general and specifically that titanic windbag Ross Brawn.
Ferrari have built a dominant position in F1 by micromanaging every single aspect of the game, all in the name of winning the constructor’s title and the drivers championship for Michael. The fact that Rubens has been an invaluable asset in achieving those goals is incontrovertible. And this is undoubtedly a part of Ruben’s reward within the greater goals of the team. Am I talking about Rubens winning pole or a greater objective?
I think it’s all a part of the master plan for Schumi’s 7th championship scenario to have Rubens collect a victory or two along the way. That would be one way of deflecting old guard criticism of Ferrari’s choice of controling their drivers and not allowing them to race each other, ala Prost and Senna.
Or is it time to “allow” Rubens a championship of his own? After all, he is only 16 points from Michael’s lead; a victory for Rubens and a DNF for Schumacher would pull Rubens to within 6 points. Statisticly there is no one more overdue for a race breakdown than Michael. With Takuma “Banzai” Sato lurking behind the front row, Michael Might not survive turn one from the start! And if ever there was a driver more deserving of a title of his own, I can’t come up with his name. With the impending break up of the Ferrari Dynastic team, it is high time that the loyal butler is rewarded for his years of service, isn’t it? The bigger question is can Michael go along with such a scheme? If he were chasing his third or fourth title, I think not. Blessed as he is with six crowns, I can envision such generosity towards a team mate he so obviously likes and respects.
Lets all hope that my theory is nothing more than the wandering imagination of a very tired man about to miss the live broadcast of his “home” GP due to other racing obligations. We’ll see tomorrow. Regardless of which Ferrari driver wins, (if it so turns out) I just won’t believe the entire scenario wasn’t hatched in the back room of the team, as opposed to actual racing.
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Agreed. After watching the micro-managing for so long nothing would surprise me. I don’t think that Schumacher has it in him to give a title to Rubens though. I just can’t see it happening.
This new point system is keeping the championship tight like it is supposed to do…maybe a little bit too tight.
Id like to think that Ferrari have done away with their team orders, but we all know that isnt true. I cant remember the race earlier this year where M Schu had a cracked exhaust and slowed down several seconds a lap with barrichello following, and conviniently also slowed down the same amount of time for those laps.
Then there are the reports that Ferrari have been letting them race and Schumacher is just that good that Barrichello cannot reach him, which is also believable 99% of the time.
But Barrichello has said it himself…the only way he is going to beat his teammate is a miscue in the pits by Schumacher or superior pit strategy, and the one time that did happen this year Trulli was in position to strike.
The way I heard it, they were allowed to race but not to break the cars. In modern F1 races that means virtually no overtaking. So, another 1-2 for the reds but the storm clouds of competition do seem to be gathering (barring disqualifications). Let’s hear a cheer for Taku’s first podium and for Minardi’s first point of the season.