Triple-H

Read the whole story here:
http://www.dailyf1.com/en/news/news.php?id=1550

To all those who have said this would be the end of Ferrari and the end of F-1 I would just like to stick my tongue out at you!

$500,000 US is no big fine for Ferrari; in fact Michael may even pay a portion of it because what he did felt good.

Now before you jump and say wait, it is a million-dollar fine, read the last paragraph of the story. Only half is to be paid now, and the other half is due in 12 months if they do the same thing again.

And the fine is not for the pass, it is for Barrichello getting up on the podium where Michael was supposed to stand.

The FIA has ruled in the only way they could because the pass was legal. And I would like to point out that every successful F-1 team has done the same thing at least once!

Kobe

I agree to all of the above,

but one question...

why didn't Ferrari "order" Rubens to back off on Sunday and let Michael past when clearly he was the slower car,

and as Ferrari rightly pointed out in Austria, the Championships is not won yet..and like in 98 and 99 when they lost by a few points...and so on...

Triple-H

Kobe, I have been thinking about that as well.
The only thing I can think of is:
- Ferrari wanted to play it very safe/non-controversial until after the FIA hearing
- Michael may have really raised a stink at the team and said he does not want to play like that anymore, he is after all the World Champion and the team is more likely to listen to him, than say the Jaguar team listening to Eddie Irvine.

Kobe

I just think that Bernie reminded them about the unwritten rules

Triple-H

Yup, that too!

magician

As Rubenho led the entire race--60 out of 60 laps--I find your use of the word "clearly" a bit of a stretch. If you base that on the fact that Schumi was lapping faster than Rubenho you should first ask yourself if Rubenho were driving full-out at the time. What is clear is that there were some laps in which Schumi was faster and some in which Rubenho was faster, but Rubenho drove a better race (notice that he stayed on the track the entire time).

The announcers at the end of the race, and the analysts immediately after the race, all said that Ferrari "obviously" didn't impose team orders this time. According to Ferrari, they're all wrong. There were team orders: Schumi was not to attempt to pass Rubenho after the second pit stop.

As for this reversal of position being an attempt to recover from a poorly received decision in Austria, or to sway the tribunal, I believe that there is a more likely explanation than either of these. Three races have passed since Austria. Schumi has a much bigger lead in the drivers' championship than he did before Austria, and the opponents have three fewer races in which to overcome that lead. In short, Ferrari's position on Sunday was much more comfortable than in Austria, so the need wasn't there.

The FIA ruled on exactly the point they said they would: the podium antics.

Kobe

, if Rubens could have set the lap record - I think he would have done, he gets paid more if he does. this time Michael was faster - despite the spin.