This Section

Latest Pictures

29 July 2010

Rubens Barrichello, a man who knows exactly what it’s like to be at the centre of a team order scandal, has said he feels sorry for countryman Felipe Massa over what happened during the German Grand Prix.

Barrichello led the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix before being asked to hand victory to team-mate Michael Schumacher, with the German securing victory just metres from the finish line.

The incident played a major role in team orders being banned by the FIA but Ferrari found itself in hot water at Hockenheim after Massa slowed to allow Fernando Alonso to take victory.

Speaking in Hungary ahead of this weekend’s race, Williams driver Barrichello admitted he felt sympathy for Massa over the German GP incident and said that no-one should have to give up an F1 victory.

“All I can say is that I’m very sorry for him,” he said, “to see that he has to go through such a bad thing.

“Nobody should be able to go through those feelings. Felipe is a friend and I wish he didn’t go through that.

“I’ve called him and I’ve already told him what I think, but it’s going to stay between me and him. But there isn’t a lot to tell; he’s feeling the same thing I felt some time ago.”

A number of people within the paddock, including Martin Brundle and Eddie Jordan, have called for the rule banning team orders within the sport to be introduced and Barrichello said it was now down to the FIA to make the correct decision on the best way forwards for the sport.

“I just think we should do something to stop this thing, because at the end of the day it could get into a bit of a drama,” he said. “When you are racing you want to beat the other one, but I wouldn’t feel nice and feel good [if a team said] I’ll give you this and then you will win.

“I don’t like that and I never did. That’s why I changed teams and that’s why I went on. So I think it’s in the hands of the top people to change that.

“You should be allowed to race. What’s the problem? If you don’t win the championship by one point, so be it. If you win the championship by one point because somebody let you win, what’s the point? That’s my view.

“If I have to be a bad guy to be world champion, I don’t care for that. I will teach my boys the same way my father taught me, and I’m happy with that.”