We should remember that Sebastian has not broken any sporting code. He has not
broken any FIA regulation, so there will be no penalty on that side. Any
employment code that he has broken will be dealt with by Red Bull, his
employer, and that is a private matter.
Emotion in this sport runs very high, right back to when Didier Pironi ignored
a team order at Imola on Gilles Villeneuve. It was all linked with the
notion of sportsmanship. I made errors when I was younger, but when it came
to team orders I always responded. There comes a point where you have to
accept what the pecking order is. I was paid by McLaren to drive the race
car and if I did not submit to the terms and conditions, then I should not
sign the contract.
Every driver’s contract contains a clause that dictates you must accept all
reasonable instructions of the team. It is the same with any branch of
employment.
On the question of whether the authority of Christian Horner, the Red Bull
team principal, is undermined by this incident between Sebastian and Mark,
just remember that McLaren found that they could not manage Fernando Alonso
and Lewis Hamilton after one year, so Alonso left. They could not manage
Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna, so Prost left.
Rewind to Hockenheim in 2010, when Felipe Massa was given instructions to move
over for Alonso, I came out then and said that this had always been part of
the sport and that we had been lying to our fans by pretending that it did
not happen. It will always be a flawed system in terms of defining who is
the best driver.
Team orders are allowed, and in this instance the order was given. Sebastian
disobeyed it. It is always there, it is just that the focus now is on Red
Bull.
Go back to Prost and Senna, I do not remember there being such a public
outcry. The drivers were seen as bigger than the teams in those days,
whereas now it is the other way around.
Fundamentally, this issue has been dealt with. Sebastian recognised he has in
the wrong, he has apologised, the team have accepted it. All this talk of
sanctions is misplaced. It is an entirely internal matter, just as it was
when Ferrari gave team orders.
Mark and Sebastian, do not forget, have been team-mates since 2009, and will
in all probability remain so. For while people can disagree with sporting
facts, you cannot disagree with the rules by which you are bound.