Zoom A big difference when the title is on the line compared to the Schumacher fixes of the past

Alex Wurz has played down the use of team orders in Formula One. Kimi Raikkonen slowed to let his championship contending team-mate Felipe Massa finish second in last Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix.

The move caused some to recall the FIA's ban, dating back to the furore of the Austrian Grand Prix six years ago, on team orders.

"It is a team sport; the drivers work for the team," the Honda test driver, told the Austrian broadcaster ORF.

"If you ask for my opinion, it is not a topic we need to discuss," he said.

Because of the rule, however, team orders are a delicate topic. Massa reacted awkwardly when questioned in Shanghai, labelling the moment at which he passed the sister Ferrari as the 'good part of the race.'

Interestingly, McLaren-Mercedes chiefs hinted they were not comfortable with their championship challengers' actions in China.

Chief Executive Martin Whitmarsh said: "I think they have to take a view on what is right. That is all in can say on the matter."

Norbert Haug added: "I am with Mercedes-Benz, not with the FIA, so it's not for me to say."

In July of this year at Hockenheim, Heikki Kovalainen pulled over to let his McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton past - a moment then described as a 'tremendous sporting gesture' by team boss Ron Dennis.

"You don't remember what happened in Germany between Kovalainen and Hamilton?" Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali pointed out when asked about his drivers' similar Shanghai swap.

Source: GMM
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