'Nothing Wrong' with Ferrari's Actions, Says Dennis

McLaren team chief and co-owner Ron Dennis believes team orders should not be made illegal by the sport's governing body, stating Ferrari's actions at the Austrian Grand Prix last week were not new to the sport nor illegal.

"What Ferrari did was completely within the rules," Dennis was quoted as saying on F1.com. "There is nothing wrong with what they did as regards regulatory matters."

Ferrari's decision to request Rubens Barrichello to give up a dominant win in favour of Championship leader Michael Schumacher came under heavy criticism and derision in the last week, with many critics stating the team had frauded the spectators. But Dennis believes there was nothing new with Ferrari's actions in last Sunday's race.

"I am not surprised by what happened," Dennis said. "It is how they choose to run their team. What happened was consistent with the way they chose to run their team. They have a declared number one and that's the beginning and end of it.

"Because they are in a dominant position at the moment they choose to make these decisions and they have to stick by the consequences. They have done nothing they haven't done before and have stated in their intention. They run with a number one and a number two.

"Rubens signed a contract on that basis and I am sure that he is happy to have the opportunity to come second. He could be in another car and not have that ability. If I was a racing driver I would want to be able to win if I was able to - on merit. But that's me, I am not a racing driver.

"I am a team principal of McLaren and we have a declared equality policy which, I think, stands the team in good stead. It may cost Championship positions or even a World Championship but I still maintain it is the way you should run a Grand Prix team."

Dennis also rejected comparisons between the contrived ending of the Austrian Grand Prix and that of the 1998 Australian Grand Prix, where David Coulthard moved over for McLaren teammate Mika Hakkinen - on the opening race of the season.

"The circumstances were completely different in Australia," Dennis stated. "It was the first Grand Prix of the season, our cars were quite strong in practice and our drivers decided whoever came out of the first corner first would win the race.

"They were correcting the outcome of that race. They did it in order not to push each other and in order to have a points advantage coming out of the first event. It's a different animal."