Ferrari boss: Rubens 'deserved to win'

Montezemolo said there is no room for emotional decisions in Formula 1.

"I am sorry for Barrichello, who was great for the whole weekend and deserved to win," he said. "Sometimes, however, one has to act letting the head rule the heart. While, with a few laps to go, I was instinctively happy for Rubens to win, 10 seconds after the chequered flag I said to myself, 'yes, that was the right decision.' I want to make it clear that this was a decision which I agree with 100 percent."

Montezemolo added that the precedent for team orders such as this had been set long ago.

"On several occasions we asked our drivers to act for the good of the team," he said. "On top of that, it does not seem to me that other teams have behaved differently in the past. One only has to recall the 1998 Australian Grand Prix, where Coulthard let Hakkinen pass. Not to mention Jerez in 1997, when an agreement between two teams, Williams and McLaren, let the Finn take his first grand prix win."

The Ferrari boss refuted allegations that the team had acted arrogantly: "I don't agree," he said. "Three times, we have lost the drivers' title by a whisper and we learnt the hard way that every little point can make the difference. Whether or not the four points which came Michael's way yesterday because of our decision will play a decisive role, is something we will not know until the end of the championship."