After two weeks of Ferrari/Schumacher bashing by the press, following the team orders for Barichello to move over and let Michael Schumacher through, perhaps we will get back to the job in hand - motor racing - this weekend.

Having said that, we are not really likely to see good motor racing at Monaco. There is little chance of any passing manoeuvres and it is really just a parade of fast cars. Remember last year when Coulthard ran behind a back marker for something like 40 laps because he couldn’t work out how to get past? I think the Qualifying will be much better than the race to be honest.

However, we do have a good “social” crowd as telly spectators for these GP’s. Join me in Shenanigans in front of the big screen for the green light at 7 p.m. See you there.

The World Championship standings going into Monaco are now:

Well, the first thing is that the Ferrari F2002 is streets above the rest as far as racing cars are concerned. We’ll come to the “Team Orders” thing in a minute.

The second thing we learned is that the modern F1 car is enormously strong. The fact that Heidfeld and Sato are still alive is testament to that. Sato getting centre-punched by a flying backwards Heidfeld is not the sort of accident you can well predict. Hopefully Sato will be back in the drivers seat this weekend.

Sato got centre-punched by a flying backwards Heidfeld at the A1 in Austria.

We also learned that the crop of new young drivers (with a couple of exceptions) are really hard chargers. Heidfeld, Massa, Raikkonen and Webber all are showing great speed and drive their cars to the limit. I will refrain from commenting on the young Malaysian, as anyone who reads my column knows what I feel about buying an F1 license.

What else did we learn? Well, we learned that Jacques Villeneuve must pay the TV commentators a hefty whack for them to keep on saying what a wonderful exciting driver he is. He should have received more than just a “drive through” penalty for barging, which seems to be his stock in trade these days, in my opinion.

Engines? The up-rated Ferrari engine in the Sauber had Heidfeld running as high as 3rd on the opening laps. Ferrari have the stranglehold on engines, that’s for sure. The Mercedes (Ilmor) is definitely not quick enough and is unreliable, while out of the four cars with Honda engines, only one made the finish. Both BAR’s exploded in the biggest way, so they are still out of the points. The (Ford owned) Cosworth went better in the Arrows than it did in the (Ford owned) Jaguars. I have said it before, but heads will roll at Jaguar. They have really lost the plot. I would not be in the slightest surprised to see Ford pull the pin on F1. They do not need it and they certainly do not need to be seen as tail-end Charlie’s fighting the Minardi’s. Even Toyota in their first season are miles ahead. Firm denials to pull-out at FoMoCo, but it would not surprise.

So to the “Team Orders” and was Ferrari right in what they did? Before we begin to discuss this, we should look at a little history. Remember “Our Nige”? Nigel Mansell won the world championship in 1992, helped by team orders that made Riccardo Patrese in the second Williams move over and let Mansell through in the French Grand Prix. Later in the year Mansell repaid the favour by moving over for Patrese in Japan, after Mansell was assured of the title. Yes, the same Williams Team that has been sounding off about what a terrible decision Ferrari has made and how they have brought F1 into disrepute. Short memories at Williams.

And do you remember the Coulthard/Hakkinen McLaren deal? He who leads at the first corner will win the race, but that’s been conveniently forgotten at McLaren. And if you think that this thing about “team orders” at Ferrari is something new, Pironi passed Gilles Villeneuve (Jacques late father) on the last lap of the San Marino GP in 1982 and broke the orders and Villeneuve never spoke to Pironi again!

There are those who are bleating about these orders spoiling the “sport”. Just when did modern F1 racing have anything to do with “sport”? “Sport” went out the window when sponsorship came in and the big bucks dictate who goes where, who drives what and who comes first and who comes second. Mr. Marlboro pays 30 million dollars for Michael Schumacher to win the championship, not for Rubens Barichello to win it. After all, Rooby baby has just signed a multimillion dollar contract which tells him when he’s allowed to win and when he’s got to come second. Rooby Baby has been paid to take a fall in the last round.

Schumacher and Barichello (courtesy pitpass.com and Bothwell photographics)

I know I am beating the hell out of this issue - but F1 is not a “sport” of individuals. You are not barracking for Michael Schumacher - you are barracking for Michael Schumacher in a Ferrari. This is a “team” sport and the team manager works out what is best for the team, not for the individual.

Q: We are only at six races, wasn’t this decision a bit too prudent, given the sport?

JT: It was a decision that was perhaps very prudent but history has taught us to be prudent and that things are never easy.

Q: What about the sport?

JT: The sport has seen Ferrari drive a very good race. We have seen clearly that the moral winner has been Rubens Barrichello, he was a very professional driver like the whole team and it’s something that he understands.

Q: What would have happened if either of the drivers had broken the contract and not done what they were told?

JT: Michael is a very professional driver and as Rubens is a very professional driver. We told them something on the radio, it’s quick decisions, quick reaction and they both respected it, what they were told.

Q: Does this mean that Rubens must now follow Michael in every race until he wins the championship?

JT: At the moment, the priority is to try to win the manufacturer’s Championship and Driver’s championship. We feel, rightly or wrongly, that Michael has more chance to win the Drivers’ Championship. So we have to decide in favour of one, at the moment it’s in favour of Michael.

Please note that Jean Todt refers to “we” all the way through that interview. He does not think of it as Michael Schumacher, he refers to “the team” i.e. Ferrari.

My feeling is that Ferrari made the right decision, but executed it very poorly. They could have reversed the positions by putting more fuel in Barichello’s car at the last pit stop making it longer by five seconds than Schumacher’s, and everyone would have said what cruel luck for Rubens.

The final words on this incident belong to Michael Schumacher. “I was thinking very strongly about this and that is why said I was hoping there wouldn’t be such an order (for Barichello to move over). If you can see the telemetry data on the straight when Rubens backed off, I backed off but then he backed off even further. You (the interviewer and the spectator) sit outside and you have a lot of time to think about all of this. We sit in there and it wasn’t a long preparation or discussion. They came on in the last couple of metres on the radio and said that he would back off. I didn’t feel like, but then I have to be honest to say no it was probably the wrong decision to win this race, yes I agree, but if I had the chance to turn it around I would probably do but I cannot now.”