Todt: Massa free to fight Schumacher

Although Ferrari have previously made sure that all their efforts have gone behind Schumacher in the quest for title glory, the team had no hesitation in allowing Massa to bring his car home first at Sepang.

Speaking about the situation and whether there were any team orders, Ferrari sporting director Jean Todt insisted that Massa would have equal chances to Schumacher.

"After two races, it's too early," he said. "Felipe could not defend his chances in his first Grand Prix in Bahrain, so I think he did a pretty good job today.

"He was on a different strategy and considering the traffic Michael had, he could not take advantage of the two pitstops, and Felipe could take advantage of one pitstop.

"I was very happy for Felipe. He's under a lot of pressure as well, so it's important that he can score points and he can demonstrate that he's a very good driver."

Massa added: "I wasn't told anything. It was a nice and competitive moment. I'm proud to have kept behind a driver of his stature."

Schumacher said he had no complaints about Massa finishing ahead of him, especially because he was not being held up by the Brazilian.

"He was quick enough to not give me a chance! He didn't make any mistakes and I was not much quicker than him," he said.