Team orders are OK. But the team needs to be prepared for the consequences.
Ignoring them is also OK. But the driver needs to be prepared for the consequences.
I voted 2x ''No'' but could have voted 2x ''Yes'' as well
Red Bull: team orders were in itself of course complete nonsense, remember also what Horner said around Brazil and Abu Dhabi 2010 - and those were the last races of the year!
That said, I feel Seb shouldn't have whinged during the race. And after that, Mark shouldn't whinge. He can't say that he didn't see that coming, come on! But he didn't bow, he was beaten, but he fought valiantly. Nothing wrong with that.
And after that, Seb shouldn't have apologised, at least not in awkward way he did. He did what he did and should have said: "OK, sometimes I'm a bastard, that's just me" (grin).
Or as an alternative should have apologised more in a true Machiavellian way. IMHO his artistic performance left a lot to be desired. He might e.g. need some lessons from Fernando
Mercedes: it looks like the team gambled on more rain or SC, at least for Lewis. Why not? But neither of it happened. As a result, Lewis was left out hanging in the dry. So it was the team's fault that they got into this situation. Team orders were essentially a face saving operation here. Understandable as such, because the result gave both Lewis and Nico a reason to say: "Look, I could have scored better and I'll show it next time."
That said, I'd really liked to know what would have happened if Lewis would have let Nico through immediately. He seemed to have the best genuine pace of the top 4 for that crucial last part - I find it difficult to believe in Ross Brawn's blabla about nothing to gain etc. and an all out attack on Mark in the later stages could have some interesting effects on the wobbly Red Bull inter team dynamics as well - as Lewis' threat on Seb had earlier in the race.
Just my thoughts for this moment
Edited by scheivlak, 24 March 2013 - 22:31.