NO TEAM ORDERS
I
n the wake of the Monaco Grand Prix one-two
victory for Ferrari, team chief Maurizio Arrivabene
has denied suggestions that team orders were
issued during the race amid allegations from
some media, as well as fans, that the result was
manipulated to favour Sebastian Vettel at the expense
of Kimi Raikkonen
Vettel powered to victory over teammate Kimi,
after the veteran Finn qualified on pole and led the
opening laps of the race. Then Ferrari called him in for
an early pitstop at which point Vettel put in a string of
very fast laps in clear air.
When the pitstops were completed, Vettel led
after achieving the over-cut, with Raikkonen trailing
in second. They stayed that way until the chequered
flag, and immediately sparking team orders
conspiracy theories from various quarters.
Arrivabene responded, “We did not give team
orders. Apart from being a Ferrari driver, Kimi is also
here to win races.”
He added in his official summary of the race,
“One-two is a great result for the entire team, on a
track that highlights the qualities of the car and the
person driving it.”
“Both our drivers performed like champions.
Starting from pole, Kimi led the race up until his pit
stop, which took place on the planned lap. Seb stayed
out for a few more laps to cover Ricciardo. Vettel’s
times were exceptional on ultrasofts that had done a
lot of laps.”
“As for Kimi, unfortunately he lost a bit too much
time behind a backmarker. The most important aspect
of [the race] is that all the hard work carried out by the
guys at the track was rewarded, as was the fact that
our car was so well conceived back in Maranello.”
“Now, it’s already time for us to think of the
forthcoming Grand Prix in Canada,” added Arrivabene.