>A friend yesterday reminded me of the Italian GP 1956, where a direct
>competitor for that year's title yielded his car to another driver.
>This driver, Collins, came into the pits for a tire-check with 15 laps to
>go, and yielded his car to Fangio, whose car had broken down with a
>mechanical failure. Fangio accepted.
>Collins thereby gave up his chances for the title that year, while Fangio
>finished second and took this year's title. His third in a row if
>http://www.racesimcentral.net/
>Achim
laps to go, Clark (leading the race and the championship) retires
putting Gurney into the lead. Bandini and Surtees are running 2nd and
3rd respectively for Ferrari. Surtees needs 6 points to clinch the
World Championship, so Ferrari orders Bandini to slow down and let
Surtees pass. Lorenzo obeys and Big John is the World Champion. (And
this after Bandini punted the only other championship contender,
Graham Hill, off the track at the hairpin early in the race). So,
team orders came into play on that day and nobody said anything
negative. Which raises the question: when are team orders okay and
when are they not? Is it okay if it's the final race of the season
and the championship's on the line, but not if it's the sixth race of
the season with a healthy championship lead?