Fair question and is being asked by others who use to run the team. This late in the game it may make sense to do that. Given recent history Felipe is outqualifying Kimi to put it mildly,taking more risks and outscoring minus the engine failure. The team knows this and the stat is 7-4 Felipe outqualifying Kimi. What do you think. The argument cuts both ways. Last year Mclaren didnt actually voice this strategy and look what happend. Conventional wisdom was LH being the fave. He melted and self destructed. Alonso complained and didnt enhance the harmony at Mclaren. Ferrari arent victim of that and probably wont be. Still sooner or later they will be forced to pick. The sooner the better since the season is over half way and all we hear is there are more races, we have time. Hardly. Time is running out and LH is in the lead. One more win for LH and another disaster via the Ferrari pitwall and both titles are in jeopardy. Hungary was convincing in pace and a total loss for all other parts of the Ferrari strategy. Kimi was a factor only after Felipe lost his motor. His form is off. He is playing catch up as Felipe clearly has the car under his control. Id bet on the consistency Felipe has shown recently. Kimi has been getting worse as the season goes on in qualifying. Saturday is half the race now. Now more than ever, if you arent on front rows on Sunday you are almost doomed unless a motor fails etc. As a Kimi fan I expected him to outpace Felipe even more. He hasnt come close. Felipe showed me the heart it takes to win in Hungary with the start. You cannot ask him to do more than that to prove his desire. Kimi complains about balance, tires and his lack of qualifying. Ultimately he needs to simply get it done-Kimi. The next race I think makes the ground even since its a new track. If Kimi shines then maybe he gets the vote for the title push and support. If its another repeat of Hungary there is no question who has the upper hand points not withstanding.
+1 No question, Massa's last performance, even with his engine failure, really had me questioning my conviction that Kimi is and should be Ferrari's number one driver. For the first time I was truely impressed by Massa. By far the best performance I have seen by him. It was quite impressive. As far as I'm concerned, Kimi has one more shot to improve at Valencia...and then it's Massa's turn to be the WDC designate.
The real question is: What do you guys have against team orders? If I would invest over a Quarter Billion Dollars per year into a racing program I should have the right to say how my two cars are run. Not just that I should have the right to but I would very much do so as the owner or team manager. The greater good is the constructors championship and then the drivers championship. If by now Ron Denis does not have team orders on his two current drivers he is a fool. To deny that they will consider team orders to me is more damaging than to say yes we have and we will exercise them as we see fit. If you don't like it, clunk up your own Billion and start your own program. F1 is a business not a charity event. As a business you have to be one lousy team manager if you would not 'manage' your team to have the best possible outcome.
To me, and this is of course only my opinion, teams orders that led to the sham that occurred in Austria in 2002 are rightfully banned. This may be a huge business but there is a sporting aspect to it as well. To have one driver move over for his team leader in the sixth race of the season when the title not anywhere close to being at stake is simply mind boggling. This is not having the best possible outcome, it's fixing the race. To have one driver help another when it comes down to the last races of the season to choose a champion is fine and a natural part of racing. Ferrari carried it too far with thier team orders in the MS era.
Too late to appoint Ferrari no.1 - Berger Wed 13 Aug, 11:08 PM Gerhard Berger, who at the beginning of the season tipped reigning champion Kimi Raikkonen to defend his title, has now changed his mind. "Now I would put my bets on Lewis Hamilton," the Austrian former Grand Prix winner, who co-owns the Toro Rosso team, told Germany's Sport Bild magazine. Berger points not only to Raikkonen's recent struggle with his Ferrari over a qualifying lap, but also rumours that the Finn is battling with waning motivation. "I must admit, he has disappointed me," Berger explained. "I don't think he has enough now to beat Hamilton." Berger, a Ferrari driver over two tenures in the 80s and again in the 90s, does not even think Raikkonen would benefit from the advice of former team boss Cesare Fiorio, who believes Maranello's current chiefs should appoint a number one driver for the remaining races of the season. "You have to specify the hierarchy from the beginning of the season, not in the middle," he said. Berger believes Hamilton, clearly the prominent driver at McLaren at the moment, has an advantage also for this reason.
It's doesn't take a genius to figure that out. Hekki hasn't been anywhere near Hammy. Not so at Ferrari. It's been close between Kimi and Massa, surprisingly so
But more seriously; RD has figured out that you cant control luck. Thats why both drivers get equal billing. One will be luckier than the other, given equal talent. The gap in talent between either driver these days is pretty small. Alonso/Junior with the biggest gap and even Jr picked up a podium about equal to FA's . #1 and #2 driver works when you have a dominant car and a dominant driver in that team Ala MS in the Ferrari. MS made quite sure what the pecking order was and everyone knew the rules. I too am disappointed by Raikonnens waste of talent but pleased with Massa's determination and effort. Still a toss up. End of the year; "Kimi's well deserved early retirement"
