Williams and BMW split on team orders
Montoya’s crushing win in Sunday’s German Grand Prix left three men with a realistic chance of the drivers’ crown. The Colombian trails Ferrari’s Schumacher by six points, while McLaren’s Kimi Raikkonen is three points further adrift.
Though team orders were banned following last year’s ‘Ferrari fix’ in Austria when Rubens Barrichello was ordered to move over for Schumacher, there is little to stop teams manufacturing a better result for their title hopeful. Ferrari and McLaren look set to ask their other drivers, Barrichello and David Coulthard, to come to their team-mates’ aid when Formula One resumes in Hungary two weeks on Sunday. But Montoya’s team appear to have differing views on whether Ralf Schumacher should be asked to play the support role.
“I think we have to sit down now and see what the situation is,” BMW boss Mario Thiesen said when asked about team orders. “We have a chance in both championships now and certainly Frank (Williams) has got to think about it. It’s going to be harder running two cars at the front. Ralf has, virtually, lost two races now. Michael still has a very good chance but Juan Pablo certainly has a good chance and we’ll be there.”
But Sam Michael, Williams’ director of race operations, insisted there would be no team orders, even though Ralf Schumacher slumped 18 points off top spot following the first-corner accident which also ended Raikkonen and Barrichello’s afternoons. Michael said: “There won’t be any instructions for the drivers, those guys are free to race right to the end of the season.”
Ralf Schumacher could be too far away to make much difference in Hungary anyway after being found guilty of causing Sunday’s early shunt by moving across the track. He will start the next race 10 places further down the gird from where he qualifies unless the team successfully appeal the punishment imposed by race stewards.
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