McLaren boss downplays Ferrari's late-race 'charade'

   Copyright c 1998 Nando Media
   Copyright c 1998 Reuters

SPIELBERG, Austria (Jul 26, 1998 - 15:52 EDT) -- McLaren boss Ron Dennis
lent surprise support to rival Ferrari at the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday
after the Italian team's drivers traded places at the finish.

"There's a subtle difference between a mascarade and a charade,"
Dennis said. "This was a charade.

"You must draw your own conclusions. There is nothing wrong with what
happened today. Formula One racing is about teams winning
championships."

Ferrari had courted controversy when Eddie Irvine slowed down in the
closing stages when he was running in third place and teammate Michael
Schumacher, runner-up in the title standings, was fourth. Schumacher then
went past to secure a podium place and a potentially vital extra
championship point.

McLaren's Mika Hakkinen, the world-championship leader, won ahead of his
teammate, David Coulthard.

Dennis, delighted by Hakkinen pulling eight points clear of Schumacher in
the standings, suggested that Ferrari was unlikely to spark a formal
protest even though any manipulation of a result is now banned.

"We are here to win," he said. "The result today was right."

McLaren has protested to the FIA ruling body about Schumacher's win at the
last British Grand Prix, but the events in Austria would not have surprised
them.

The FIA outlawed interference with a race result, including overtaking a
teammate under team orders, after Coulthard let Hakkinen win the
season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

Irvine was coy about Sunday's race, mumbling something about longer pedals
and brake problems that had forced him to slow down, allowing Schumacher to
overtake on lap 68.

Before that, Ferrari's No. 2 driver had delivered a near-perfect
performance and easily kept the pace of the two McLarens ahead of him.

But he began losing up to a second and half per lap after Schumacher
overtook his younger brother, Ralf, and moved from fourth to fifth position
on lap 55.

"Brake wear had been critical through the race, and I was told to ease
off, which is how Michael caught me," Irvine said. "Once he got
past, I pushed again for a couple of laps as Ralf was behind me.

"It's a bit of a shame, really. I could have had a really good result
today. But the result is fine as it is."

Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn said both of his drivers had had to
slow down because of brake problems but that Schumacher had been quicker
because he was the better driver.

When asked about a possible sanction, Brawn said: "It's for other
people to judge.

"Both drivers know that they must not have each other off," he
said. "We'll see what happens."

Schumacher had pressed for the lead early in the race but lost a lot of
ground on lap 16 when he skidded off. He had to call in to the pits for a
new nose end and then carved his way back through the field from 16th
place.

When he caught up with his teammate, the German had little trouble getting past.

"We both had problems," he said. "It's obvious Eddie
wouldn't make it too difficult for me to overtake."

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