The German grand prix at Hockenheim ended in a Ferrari 1-2, with Fernando Alonso taking the cake from Felipe Massa at second and Sebastian Vettel at third. The race got mired in controversy when Fernando Alonso was allowed to pass, by Felipe Massa for first place. On lap 48, Massa was told on the radio “Fernando is faster than you. Can you confirm you understood that message?” which was a conspicuous cryptic message to let Alonso pass him in the next lap. The passing of orders to let team members pass was banned by the FIA after the farcical Schumacher-Barrichello episode in 2002. The memories of that distasteful race were rekindled in Hockenheim by this limpid breach of racing conduct. Post the race, when Massa was asked about the same, he looked edgy and was quite clearly unhappy. His unwillingness to comment on the issue added further fuel to the ravaging fire. For now, the FIA has taken swift action by handing down a fine of $100,000, but the race result still stands indefinitely.
Overall, it turned out to be bit of a drab. Vettel, who was at the helm of the grid, failed to capitalize once again and was overtaken aggressively by Massa. Hamilton, who leads the standings, was unable trouble Vettel much but was successful in keeping Button at bay. Webber was forced to constrict himself, due to an oil consumption problem behind Button. There was a squabble for the lower points with Kubica in his Renault lapping in at seventh place ahead of Rosberg and Schumacher in Mercedes GP. Petrov put in a tidy performance to take the last point, bringing it home at 10th place.
Without doubt, the German Grand Prix 2010 is going to go down the annals of history for the ‘team order’ controversy that came back to haunt Ferrari like an apparition.
Race Quality: 5/10
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