The Ferrari technical director has called on Renault to avoid any temptation to use team orders or other dirty tricks in Sunday's Japanese GP.
SUZUKA: Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn has called on world championship rivals Renault to avoid any temptation to use team orders or other dirty tricks in Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix.
Mindful of past controversies, when team orders were allowed in the sport, Briton Brawn said any kind of blocking would be unacceptable.
"What we mustn't have is the number two drivers blocking, or intentionally slowing one of the championship contenders. That would be unfortunate and unacceptable. It is something I know we were involved in a few years ago and it was considered to be normal practice then. But it has been deemed to be unacceptable now, so we understand that. I think there is a certain level that is logical and fair and there is another level that has to be avoided because it is not correct," he said.
Brawn was with Ferrari in 1997 when they used heavily-criticised team orders to help control the race and boost Briton Eddie Irvine's chances of rising through the running order.
A similar scenario in Sunday's keenly-anticipated showdown at Suzuka would cause an uproar similar to that at the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix that resulted in the sport's ruling body banning any kind of team orders. Previously, they had been an integral part of the sport.
Since last weekend's Chinese Grand Prix, however, defending champion Spaniard Fernando Alonso has several times made it clear that he was not happy with his Renault team's failure to support him with any kind of team effort when he was forced to struggle with tyre problems during the race at Shanghai.
That in turn has thrown the spotlight on both Alonso's Italian team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella and Schumacher's Ferrari partner Brazilian Felipe Massa, who on Saturday grabbed pole position for Sunday's race.
"The difficulty is that after all the fuss of a couple of years ago, any team orders that influence the outcome of the race are not allowed, but that doesn't stop the driver making the decision," said Brawn.
"If you radio your driver and say: 'Please look after the engine, please look after the tyres, we want to make sure you finish the race', everyone could interpret that as a coded message that you have to back off.
"And you make out of that what you want. It is very difficult for Felipe to win a race and stop Michael from winning the championship. I don't think he would want to do it. And the same with Giancarlo."
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