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Piquet Jr and Berger back Ferrari over team orders

ESPNF1 Staff
August 16, 2010 « Schumacher blames car deficiencies | »
Ferrari will face a World Motor Sport Council disciplinary hearing next month © Getty Images
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Former Formula One drivers Nelson Piquet Jr and Gerhard Berger say that Ferrari are right to favour Fernando Alonso in the battle for the world championship.

Felipe Massa was controversially made to pull over and let Alonso past to take victory in the German Grand Prix, resulting in widespread criticism over Ferrari breaching the ban over team orders. As a result, the Italian team has been asked to explain its actions to the World Motor Sport Council disciplinary hearing next month.

But Nelson Piquet Jr, who was Alonso's team-mate at Renault during the even more controversial 'crashgate' affair, says Ferrari will always favour the quicker man.

"It's hard for Massa that Alonso came into the team later but is faster," Piquet told Brazilian newsmagazine Istoe. "But Ferrari will not miss an opportunity to give a driver the opportunity to close the gap to the championship leaders.

"If Massa doesn't want this to happen, then he has to work out a way to go faster than Alonso - there's nothing else he can do. Because if he'd been ahead of Alonso in the championship, it would have been him going past."

Former Ferrari driver Gerhard Berger added that once the Maranello team had achieved its aim of signing the two-time world champion, there was always only going to be one team leader.

"Let's not kid ourselves," Berger told Auto Motor und Sport. "Alonso is clearly the better man in the team; their only chance for the world championship.

"[Ferrari president Luca di] Montezemolo went shopping for him and he is going to play this card as hard as he can."

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