Fernando Alonso took a controversial victory in the German Grand Prix after team orders were used to get Alonso ahead of race leader Felipe Massa. After the race Ferrari were fined $100000 for using team orders and the case was referred to the FIA World Motor Sport Council. The WMSC disciplinary hearing will be held on the 8th of September.
Ferrari were found guilty of using team orders at the end of the race and Ferrari haven't officially lodged any protest on the $100000 fine. It could be assumed that Ferrari would not try to protest the stewards decision at the council hearing but would justify their stance for the events during the race.
Ferrari have been involved in team order controversies before. In the 2001 Austrian Grand Prix, Ruben Barrichello had to concede second place to Michael Schumacher. Barrichello let Schumacher overtake him on the last lap of the race. Intrestingly the same situation present itself to Ferrari the next Austrian Grand Prix in 2002. This time Barrichello conceded his lead to Schumacher on the last lap of the race. During the trophy presentation ceremony of the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix, Schumacher took the second step of the podium and insisted on Barrichello taking the top step. Ferrari received a huge fine of one million dollars for not observing the sport's regulations during the presentation ceremony. The new rules against team orders were due to the events of the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix.
The opinion about team orders itself has been a divided one. Some teams have said that team orders should be allowed and the rule be scrapped, but others feel that it spoils the show. However many were disappointed with the outcome of the German GP. Fans expect racing at all times during a race, an opinion which is not necessarily shared by the teams.
Former FIA president Max Mosely has been quoted as saying that both Ferrari drivers should be docked their points in the race. Ferrari would definitely take a harder stance if that were to happen. A few media reports say that Ferrari are prepared for a civil court action if the decision of the WMSC is to dock any points from the race. While docking points wouldn't affect Ferrari in the constructors championship it would have a huge impact on Fernando Alonso's title hopes. The drivers title is very closely fought this year and if Alonso were to lose the points from the German Grand Prix its almost curtains for his title hopes.
Ferrari reaction of a civil suit might be to let the WMSC know beforehand how they would feel about any drastic decision against them. Precedents do suggest the WMSC might take a sterner action against Ferrari. In the spy controvery McLaren were docked all constructor points and imposed a fine of 100 million dollars while the drivers - Hamilton and Alonso escaped any penalty. In the 2009 lie-gate controversy McLaren were docked points for three races and Hamilton for the Australian race. The WMSC might feel obliged to hand a bigger penalty to Ferrari and set a deterrent against teams imposing team orders.
While Ferrari are focusing on the upcoming Belgian Grand Prix, the upcoming hearing will most certainly be on the back of their mind. The F1 media and fans would most certainly divert their attention to the hearing soon after the Belgian Grand Prix. Interestingly the hearing is set to be held on Wednesday during the Monza race week, which is Ferrari's home race.
