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Formula One
F1: Ferrari Manipulated Race Says Horner
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner is lashing out against Ferrari for the alleged team orders given at Hockenheim...
Adam Cooper  | http://www.speedtv.com  |  Posted July 27, 2010   Balen (BEL)
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner is outspoken in his feelings about the Ferrari team orders situation. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
Red Bull had not ruled out making a protest about the Ferrari team orders situation if the FIA stewards hadn't taken action of their own.

In fact, sources confirm that the team got on the radio to race control soon after the Ferrari drivers swapped places, in order to register its concern.

“It was so blatantly obvious what they’ve done,” Christian Horner told SPEED.com. “They manipulated the outcome of the race by telling one car to effectively slow down, and then apologize to him. The FIA have all the facts, they know the rules better than anyone else.

“The regulation was designed to avoid exactly what we saw, and that has been our understanding of the rules since we joined F1. What was done was very blatant and a great shame for all the fans and spectators and viewers around the world, to see a race handed from one driver to another.”

In some people’s eyes, Horner has set himself up for criticism, given recent events within his team. However, the infamous Turkey collision occurred when the RBR drivers were racing each other, despite obvious concerns on the pit wall about the looming presence of the McLarens.
Felipe Massa (Left) will begin 2011 on equal footing with Ferrari teammate Fernando Alonso (Right). (Photo: Getty Images)

“We tried to do the right thing. It’s part of the Red Bull ethics to allow our drivers to race, and that’s what we’ve done, as I believe McLaren allows their drivers to do likewise," Horner said. "That was a very clear team instruction ... that handed the race win from one driver to another. It’s wrong that the drivers weren’t allowed to compete with each other.

“Felipe (Massa) wasn’t that far behind in the points; it’s not like he was out of the championship. It guarantees that he’s not allowed to beat Fernando Alonso this year. They obviously tried to give the lead to Fernando at the first pit stop, because it made no sense to give him the first stop, other than to try and put him ahead of Massa. That obviously didn’t work for them, so they moved it on track. And that is wrong.

“It’s so disappointing for the fans more than anything that they didn’t get to see Massa, who’d driven a good race, race against Fernando. It was a great shame.

“I never heard of a strategy that says out of Turn 6 slow down and then apologize to your driver."

Adam Cooper notched up his 25th season as a racing journalist in 2009. Born in London, England, he saw his first F1 race at age 10 in 1976. He began freelancing for Autosport magazine in 1985 and was on the fulltime staff from 1987-92. He then went freelance again, initially spending two years in Japan before following the 1994 Champcar series from a base in Indianapolis. He has not missed a Grand Prix since Suzuka ‘94, a run that has extended to Abu Dhabi ’09. Adam has written books about Eddie Irvine, Piers Courage and Michael Schumacher and hosts a race preview show on Sirius XM. He has written about F1 for SPEEDtv.com since 2005. Check out Adam's Blog or follow him on Twitter

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