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By darwin dali
#223761
Michael Schumacher said that he let team-mate Nico Rosberg past because he was in a better position to challenge Jenson Button ahead.

Rosberg had earlier come out ahead of Schumacher after his first pit stop but pitted a second time when the safety car came out. Schumacher was then running sixth before allowing Rosberg, who had fresher tyres, past.

"I had quite a good start today gaining two positions which unfortunately I lost again directly afterwards following my exit on the grass because of the fight with Robert," said Schumacher. "We then had good pace but with hindsight, my pit stop was maybe a little too early which left me stuck behind Adrian. Towards the end, I let Nico past when he was on fresh tyres as he had the better chance to fight Jenson in front of us. I look forward to Abu Dhabi now where I hope to have another encouraging race."

Rosberg acknowledged it had been a nice gesture from the seven-time world champion to let him go by.

"I had a strong start today and when Michael pitted ahead of me, I had clear air and was able to make up positions thanks to our good strategy," said Rosberg. "From then, it got a little chaotic but the team made a great call to get me on new rubber when the safety car came out. Unfortunately Jenson did the same and there was a lot of chaos with lapped cars so I wasn't able to make up any further positions. Michael let me past which was nice as he was on used rubber against my new tyres."


Just stirring the pot :P
By Troyron
#223765
Many will say it is not team orders, and rightly so. However it is the same result as when Massa "let" Alonso past, we (the audience) dont get to see racing between them. The FIA must either abandon the rule or practice this as team orders as well. In the end of the day it is almost impossible to hand held this rule.
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By smokin
#223776
There's been a refreshing lack of team orders at Mercedes. I fully expected the team to defer to Michael, irrespective of who was faster, and have been pleasantly surprised that that hasn't been the case. From this initially biased viewpoint I saw the change to the car mid-season as an attempt to make it more Schumi-friendly and Rosberg-hostile but Nico still outpaced his more experienced teammate so I see it now as a bona fide improvement, of benefit to both. I think Mercedes have played it fair.
By vaptin
#223786
There's been a refreshing lack of team orders at Mercedes. I fully expected the team to defer to Michael, irrespective of who was faster, and have been pleasantly surprised that that hasn't been the case. From this initially biased viewpoint I saw the change to the car mid-season as an attempt to make it more Schumi-friendly and Rosberg-hostile but Nico still outpaced his more experienced teammate so I see it now as a bona fide improvement, of benefit to both. I think Mercedes have played it fair.


Rosberg certainly said so, he said the updates would benefit both of them.

Mercedes have handled their drivers really well, though I probably shouldn't have expected less from Ross Brawn.
#223849
Yep I love this team - they have the potential to do great things and could/should be challenging for wins next season - if not the championship. :thumbup:
#223852
I believed from mid season this Mercedes team could cause a shock next season. With 3 teams going for the Championships and pushing their developments for this season, Mercedes can simply sit back and focus on their 2011 machines. Brawn isn't an idiot, and Michael is coming very strong towards the end of the season.

I never liked Michael much, but he's been getting lot of stick for his performances which he doesn't deserve. Personally I hope he does very well next season and shuts people up! It's a great partnership at Merc, 1 to worry about for the other top teams.
#223855
I believed from mid season this Mercedes team could cause a shock next season. With 3 teams going for the Championships and pushing their developments for this season, Mercedes can simply sit back and focus on their 2011 machines. Brawn isn't an idiot, and Michael is coming very strong towards the end of the season.

I never liked Michael much, but he's been getting lot of stick for his performances which he doesn't deserve. Personally I hope he does very well next season and shuts people up! It's a great partnership at Merc, 1 to worry about for the other top teams.


8 world championships? Or will he do something different in his career and do his best to support an up-and-coming? See that would make Schumacher a complete driver. The ability to be a ruthless number one driver, and the ability to be a great supporting driver. Everyone here would obviously know what kind of person he is, but I don't really.

Theoretically, apart from McLaren, we could see 3 Germans in strong positions next year, and their lengthy anthem will just start ringing like a cracked record inside our noggins. :yawn::P
#223886
They called MSC the poster boy for "Team Orders" during the race.

He is not losing anything career wise by letting his team mate through
#223967
im surprised that michael did that, its certainly seems that he has mellowed this year, probaly because of the fact that his merc hasnt been fast enough to challenge, so he's had to do what happened last year at ferrari and mclaren, just enjoy the year....
#224027
I don't think it was a team order, Michael is an intelligent driver, he knows the score and he has nothing to lose by letting his younger team mate through!

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