Formula 1
Ferrari issued Massa team order three times
Felipe Massa received three team orders before he moved over for Fernando Alonso at Hockenheim, it has emerged. Germany's Auto Motor und Sport made the claim, as the controversy about prohibited team orders continues to rage days later in the ...
GMM
Published: Jul 30, 2010, 9:53 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Felipe Massa received three team orders before he moved over for Fernando Alonso at Hockenheim, it has emerged.
Germany's Auto Motor und Sport made the claim, as the controversy about prohibited team orders continues to rage days later in the Hungaroring paddock.
The report said Alonso, who was later heard on the radio to say the situation was "ridiculous", began to complain to the Ferrari pitwall about Massa's pace shortly after his pitstop.
The team replied that it could do nothing, so Spaniard Alonso, who turned 29 on Thursday, dropped back nearly four seconds.
His engineer Andrea Stella told Alonso he was worried about the growing gap, to which Alonso reportedly replied: "No problem, I will close up".
It was this pace relative to leader Massa that moved Ferrari to issue the team order.
But some media have portrayed Alonso as a bully and complainer, suggesting that his reputation has been negatively dented by the affair, which could cost him the support of the spectators.
But he told reporters in Hungary: "Of course it doesn't affect me, not at all. I don't think anything has changed for me or that anything will come back to me.
"Today when I arrived, the airport was full, also the hotel was full of people cheering for us, and these are the fans I saw so far," added Alonso.
He said if the shoe was on the other foot, he would also play the team game.
"If the conditions were the same, with the tyres not working correcting etcetera ... I would surely do the same, the team is the most important thing," Alonso said.
Meanwhile, Massa was fending off claims that - particularly in his native Brazil - his reputation is in tatters.
"People believed in him," said Brazilian journalist Livio Oricchio. "He was considered a winner and thousands of fans saw him as a future champion.
"This image is gone," he added.
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Mercedes rewinds updates after Hockenheim setback
Next article Red Bull set to dominate as flex saga continues
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
GMM
The season is still very long - Rosberg
Formula 1
Formula 1
The season is still very long - Rosberg
Jules Bianchi's father speaks of family's continued hopes
Formula 1
Formula 1
Jules Bianchi's father speaks of family's continued hopes
Sauber under no illusions about constructors' position
Formula 1
Formula 1
Chinese GP
Sauber under no illusions about constructors' position
More from
Felipe Massa
On this day: Michael Schumacher wins… and stuns tifosi with F1 retirement
Formula 1
Formula 1
Italian GP
On this day: Michael Schumacher wins… and stuns tifosi with F1 retirement
Defendant ordered to pay £250,000 legal fees in Felipe Massa F1 title case
Formula 1
Formula 1
Defendant ordered to pay £250,000 legal fees in Felipe Massa F1 title case
Felipe Massa’s F1 2008 lawsuit will proceed to trial
Formula 1
Formula 1
Las Vegas GP
Felipe Massa’s F1 2008 lawsuit will proceed to trial
More from
Ferrari
Ferrari promotes F2 racer to F1 reserve driver role
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Ferrari promotes F2 racer to F1 reserve driver role
The six drivers doing double duty in Portimao GTWCE and Barcelona WEC this weekend
WEC
WEC
Barcelona
The six drivers doing double duty in Portimao GTWCE and Barcelona WEC this weekend
Latest news
Christian Horner: Kimi Antonelli has 'earned' the right to be Mercedes' number one
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
30 min
Christian Horner: Kimi Antonelli has 'earned' the right to be Mercedes' number one
FIA ratifies key 2027 WRC sporting regulations
WRC
WRC WRC 2 h
FIA ratifies key 2027 WRC sporting regulations
Toprak Razgatlioglu to miss the rest MotoGP season due to shoulder injury
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Australian GP
3 h
Toprak Razgatlioglu to miss the rest MotoGP season due to shoulder injury
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe