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Former Grand Prix driver Marc Surer has defended Ferrari, claiming it's impossible to accuse them of team orders and not consider what Mercedes has done. Some fans were outraged that Sebastian Vettel received the faster strategy in Monaco that allowed him to win the race, despite the fact that Kimi Raikkonen claimed pole position and lead for the first half of the race.
Surer has pointed at Mercedes, who used team orders in Bahrain. Valtteri Bottas was ordered to move aside for teammate Lewis Hamilton, while in China, Vettel was stuck behind Raikkonen for quite a while without any team intervention.
"Up until now you can't accuse Ferrari of absolutely anything," the former Arrows racer said. "On the contrary, in China it was Vettel who was stuck for an eternity behind Kimi. Still, the reds did not intervene. Mercedes, on the other hand, clearly did a team order in Bahrain -- even openly on the radio. I think it's good how Ferrari is doing it. Later in the year, they will still need Kimi, so if they intervene already, you break his morale."
Change in focus
Hamilton lies second in the driver standings, 25 points behind leader Sebastian Vettel. Surer thinks that Hamilton needs a change in focus if he is serious about winning a fourth world title - and stop Vettel from claiming his fifth.
"If Lewis wants to be champion, he has to pull himself together," said the Swiss. "Fly less around the world and focus more on the race. Suddenly Bottas is in front of him, which he did not expect at all, but the Finn is a serious worker who gets the best out of the car, as Rosberg did before him."
Fergal Walsh
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Bahrain International Circuit - Winter testing
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Replies (2)
Login to replycalle.itw
Posts: 8,527
So there is an entire win between the two. Thats a decent lifeline. Not foolproof, but decent. But Baku and Canada should be just what Mercedes need: two very high speed tracks with long straights.
These tracks will also probably leave Red Bull open for a serious Force India assault. Red Bull lack the raw power required for good laps around the track, and their cars have had some weird brake problem, not what you need on a track like this.
f1fan0101
Posts: 1,804
The driver championship is secondary to the teams