MICHAEL Schumacher, Eddie Irvine and Ferrari set the precedent of team orders in the Malaysian GP during the inaugural Formula1 race at Sepang in 1999. Back then, Schumacher slowed down to let Irvine pass and win the race to gain a crucial championship advantage over Mclaren’s Hakkinen.
Cut to 2013, we saw team orders being dished out in the Malaysian GP which would’ve determined the order of the top 4 finishers. While triple World Champion Sebastian Vettel ignored the orders and overtook team-mate Mark Webber for victory, Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg followed his team’s orders and gifted Lewis Hamilton his 50th career podium in Formula1. A tale of two teams and four drivers!
The result of these team orders saw a grim podium ceremony where Vettel was unapologetic about his move whereas Aussie driver Mark Webber was himself – blunt and to the point! Lewis Hamilton on the other hand was thankful to Rosberg for granting him the podium. Given that the action on and off track was exciting, #MalaysianGP was trending on Twitter’s India trends. Yet another weekend where Formula1 out-paced Cricket, literally!
Post-race, fans and media were up in arms against Vettel for disrespecting team orders and denying Webber a win. While team orders are legal in the sport now, in my view, this is an absolute grey area to make a fair decision. While Vettel’s disobedience granted him a victory and 25 points in a race where Alonso suffered a lap 1 retirement, obedience denied Rosberg a worthy podium. Probably, it is this ruthlessness and extreme desire to win that makes Vettel the sport’s youngest three time World Champion (and a possible replacement for Schumacher too?). I have said this before and will say it again; you don’t participate in professional sport to be a good guy! You can contribute your time and money to charities in your off-time to be one.
On the Sahara Force India front, the weekend started off on a strong note with the VJM06 showcasing laptimes that merited top 10 positions for both drivers in qualifying. However, it was the advent of rain that caught Paul Di Resta (15th) off and saw Adrian Sutil manage 9th. Had the conditions been dry, it would’ve been possible to see them qualify higher up the grid as it was Sutil who managed to hold P1 in the Q1 session of qualifying.
Come Race Day, the team’s hopes of a double points finish turned into a double retirement, their worst after the 2010 Japanese GP. The multiple retirements were due to issues faced in their captive wheel nut system during their pit-stops. The Indian owned team still stands 5th in the Constructors’ Championship with 10 points, 6 points ahead of Mclaren and Sauber.
Between Australia and Malaysia, India’s first and most experienced Formula1 driver Narain Karthikeyan announced that he would be racing with Zele Racing in the opening round of the AutoGP World Series. The opening round was held in Monza and concluded yesterday. Narain, easily the series’ most experienced driver finished 5th in Race 1 followed by a mechanical retirement in Race 2. He currently stands 7th in the overall championship with 10 points. Narain’s team-mate is Akshay Luciano Bacheta who has Indian parents with Italian origins. Bacheta is the reigning Formula2 champions and finished 8th and 2nd in Races 1 & 2 respectively. He is 5th in the Championship with 19 points. It will be interesting to see how Narain performs against his much younger and lesser experienced team-mate.
Narain’s move comes as a surprise to many who expected him to move to America and participate in Indy Car. Although he might be a tad too late to confirm a drive, it might still be possible. Basis my understanding, Narain is yet to commit to the entire season of AutoGP, which means that he could consider a late switch. Either ways, Narain needs a series which acts as an alternate to F1; an open-wheel championship with a powerful engine! While he goes about searching for a good (and affordable) series, he knows that along with TATA’s money he does need a few (or more) race wins to impress the F1 bosses again and make way for his third stint in the sport. I am still checking if he would create history by doing so…!
And sticking to driver announcements, another Indian F1 hopeful Armaan Ebrahim announced that he would be racing in the GT1 World Series in 2013, making him the first Indian to do so. Armaan’s motor-racing career includes participation in illustrious series such as the A1 Grand Prix, Formula2 and more recently Indy Lights in America. To bring his single-seater career back on the path of Formula1, Armaan needs consistent wins and podiums in 2013 followed by a host of sponsors willing to back his talent. The driver himself declared that his move to sportscar racing is to survive in the expensive world of motorsport and single-seater racing.
Given that team orders have been added to the list of variables for teams and drivers to excel under, it will be interesting to see how action resumes in the Chinese GP in three weeks’ time. Till then, happy waiting!