Formula one removes ban on 'team orders' rule?

Blackshaw, Ian

The World Governing Body of Motor Sport, the FIA (Federation Internationale de Motor Sport) has removed the controversial ban on 'team orders' from its rule book.

This rule forbids F1 teams from instructing a driver to cede to his teammate in order to gain points, and recently came under scrutiny after Ferrari were fined for using team orders in 2010. This happened at the German Grand Prix in July 2010 when the Ferrari driver, Felipe Massa, who had been leading the Hockenheim race, moved aside to allow his team mate, Fernando Alonso, to pass him on Lap 49 and win the race. A few moments before, Massa's race engineer had told the Brazilian: "Fernando is faster than you. Can you confirm you understood that message?"

Although Ferrari insisted that this did not constitute a 'team order', but was merely giving the driver information, and Massa claimed that he and not the team had made the decision to surrender the lead to Alonso, nevertheless, the race stewards decided that Ferrari had, in fact, contravened Article 39.1 of the F1 Sporting Regulations, which provides that "team orders which interfere with a race result are prohibited", and had also breached Article 151 (c) of the International Sporting Code, which prohibits "any fraudulent conduct or any act prejudicial to the interests of any competition or to the interests of motor sport generally". The stewards then handed Ferrari the maximum fine of US$100,000 that they are empowered to impose on a competitor. The FIA considered that the rule on banning 'team orders', which was introduced in 2002 after Rubens Barrichello allowed his Ferrari teammate at the time, Michael Schumacher, to win, was difficult to enforce in practice.

Apart from that practical consideration, I never did understand what all the fuss regarding the 'team orders' rule was about, as F1 is essentially a team sport, although, of course, there is one individual champion in each season, but, again, the winner is a member of a particular team.

However, Article 151 (c) remains in force. This is the so-called rule against 'bringing the sport into disrepute' - a very popular provision in the Disciplinary Rules of many International Sports Governing Bodies. This rule is also, I consider, rather difficult to enforce in practice, as it is essentially 'subjective' in nature.

It is rather like a rule that bans conduct which is against 'public policy', which has been described by one English Judge, namely Mr. Justice Burrough, in the case of Richardson v Mellish (1824), 2 Bing. 229, 252, 130 Eng. Rep. 294, at page 303, as: "a very unruly horse, and when once you get astride it you never know where it will carry you. It may lead you from the sound law. It is never argued at all but when other points fail."

So, perhaps, despite the change, the F1 'team orders' rule remains, but in a much less clear form!