Currently reading: Ferrari: no German GP appeal
Ferrari will not appeal its fine for fixing the result of the German GP

Ferrari has ruled out appealing against the $100,000 (£65,000) fine that it was handed for imposing illegal team orders at the German grand prix.

The punishment came after Felipe Massa handed Fernando Alonso the lead of the race – shortly after he was told his team-mate was quicker than him.

See the pics from the German grand prix

The World Motor Sport Council has been asked to look into what happened at Hockenheim in addition to the fine. The incident came on lap 49 when Alonso easily swept past Massa on the way out of the turn six hairpin.

Just prior to that, Massa’s race engineer Rob Smedley had told the Brazilian: “Fernando is faster than you. Have you understood that?”

After the race, Massa claimed it had been his decision to let Alonso past and Rob Smedley insisted that his comments were not a hidden message.

The stage was set for controversy when Sebastian Vettel in the Red Bull starting from pole made a poor start and started to squeeze the fast starting Alonso towards the inside wall.

In doing so, the left-hand side of the track was left clear for Massa to sweep around the outside into turn one and take the lead.

Initially Massa was quicker than Alonso on the soft tyre but after the pitstops, he struggled on the harder compound. Alonso had an opportunity to pass on lap 21 but afterwards, Massa appeared to have just enough pace to stay ahead of his teammate before he was asked to move over.

Vettel finished third, with the McLarens of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button driving races of damage limitation in fourth and fifth respectively. Mark Webber in the other Red Bull endured a torrid weekend after a poor qualifying session and oil pickup problems in the race.

Robert Kubica in the Renault finished seventh followed by the Mercedes drivers Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher. Vitaly Petrov in the other Reanult completed the points positions in tenth place.

Andrew Papworth

Race results

Hockenheim, Germany; 67 laps; 306.458km;1. Alonso Ferrari 1h28:38.8662. Massa Ferrari +4.1963. Vettel Red Bull-Renault +5.1214. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 26.8965. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 29.4826. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 43.6067. Kubica Renault + 1 lap8. Rosberg Mercedes + 1 lap9. Schumacher Mercedes + 1 lap10. Petrov Renault + 1 lap11. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap12. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap13. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap14. De la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap15. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap16. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes + 2 laps17. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 2 laps18. Glock Virgin-Cosworth + 3 laps19. Senna HRT-Cosworth + 4 laps

Fastest lap: Vettel, 1:15.824See all the latest F1 reviews, news and video

Back to top

Join the debate

Comments
21
Add a comment…
Wanos 28 July 2010

Re: Ferrari: no German GP appeal

It's unfortunate for Formula 1 and all the spectators but it is a team sport and the team don't care who wins as long as one of their drivers do. Ferrari by this statement obviously don't think that Massa is cable of winning the championship which is why they handed the win to Alonso. Red Bull didn't do much different in the last grand prix, it's unfortunate but that's what happens when you play in a team.

$100k doesn't even buy half of Ferrari's cheapest car so why would they contest it?

Amanitin 28 July 2010

Re: Ferrari: no German GP appeal

Dave Ryan wrote:
Were your claim true, that result would not have happened

Radioshack did not have a clear favourite, nor did they have a serious contender for overall individual win.

Quite telling is team ranking, where teams of Contador and Schleck came in only sixth and twelfth.

Dave Ryan 27 July 2010

Re: Ferrari: no German GP appeal

Amanitin wrote:
Interim results after the first couple of flat stages are normally meaningless in terms of final rankings. The showdown is on the mountains, where the big names instantly took over the top of the table and remained there. Stage wins are nice to have but not necessary kind of objectives.

I refer you to the standings of Stage 16 (mountain stage):

5th - Chris Horner (USA) - Team RadioShack

6th - Lance Armstrong (USA) - Team RadioShack

Were your claim true, that result would not have happened. Nor would Horner have beaten his team leader in the overall standings (10th versus 23rd). I would also dispute that the riders do not regard stage wins as an objective, as Contador is the exception rather than the rule in winning the Tour without winning a stage. Historically one has tended to follow the other.