Montoya: You have to accept team orders

By Andrew Hooper
May 13 2002

 

 

  
Have to accept team orders
 
The 2002 Austrian Grand Prix would see BMW WilliamsF1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya finish in third place behind the controversial one-two of Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello. Despite the outcry regarding the issue of team orders been applied Juan Pablo can understand their use. Mind you he found it hard to figure out why the Ferrari team would use team orders when they are so clearly in front of all the other teams.

Montoya on start grid in Austria"It is team orders," said Montoya. "That's the way they work. It is disappointing, I would say, for Rubens. He has been working, and in the last few races you can see he has been starting to out-pace Michael and he has been really strong. I really felt he deserved this. Michael, when you really think about it, doesn't really have any challenge in the championship. I am running second and we have done six races and he is already more than 20 points ahead of me. And they are maybe a second a lap clear on us, so what they are nervous about I don't know. But it is a team decision, I am sorry for Rubens, and he did deserve it."

"I am actually surprised by the amount of BS going around here because Michael already told you that it is a team sport this is a team order and you have got to accept it. Myself, like anybody else, would like to see fair racing. In a way it is fair racing. It is probably the first time this year that Rubens has had the chance to beat Michael and he did it. He beat him on the track and he had to back off. It is a team order, everybody is disappointed because they saw a challenge for Michael and it disappeared but..."
 
 
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