Racing lines: orders must be followed, as Formula E reminds us

“Congratulations to the team and Pascal. It’s a fantastic result,” he said (without his usual spark). “I was up on energy and for sure would have had a good opportunity to take the lead. But we worked as a team and the strategy played out very well. If I would have started in front of him, it would have been the same story but the other way around. From the team perspective, it was the right call. We played it cool and really showed a strong performance together. It’s tough, but it’s the sport. I should have qualified better.”

Not the same as by Ferrari

There was a time when Formula 1 banned team orders in the wake of blatant Ferrari favouritism towards Michael Schumacher. We all knew what the ‘other’ driver faced at Maranello, but it was how Ferrari called its shots that hurt, most famously at the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix, when Rubens Barrichello didn’t give up victory until the run to the finish line. It seemed to rub the fans’ noses in the contrivance, and the boos that day as the drivers stood on the podium shamed F1 into action.

Yet there’s good reason why the ban that followed was eventually lifted. It was hard to police and denied the simple reality that team interests sometimes have to outweigh those of the individual, especially if a championship is on the line.

Teams slyly found ways to implement them through code, too: “Felipe, Fernando [Alonso] is faster than you” from the 2010 German GP, again from none-too-subtle Ferrari. It was laughable and hung around the neck of poor old Massa forever after.

Porsche’s example this time, at only the third race of the season, was unfortunate but far less troubling. The team and Formula E was all too aware of the toxicity likely to be released, which is perhaps why all we heard on the broadcast was a message to Wehrlein: “Just focus on pace. Don’t worry about the car behind.” The ex-F1 racer would have understood what that meant.

But there’s an important differentiator to the old Ferrari example: one driver wasn’t being asked to allow the other behind to pass. That’s what was really hard to swallow. Here, Wehrlein had led the race from pole, dropped a couple of places, then worked his way back to the front on merit. He had earned first and, as Lotterer admitted, claimed his crucial advantage in qualifying.

That’s why he sucked it up, kept his composure and said the right thing. Lotterer loves racing in Formula E. He has also admitted to a burning ambition to win Le Mans for a fourth time with Porsche, a car maker he has genuinely loved since his dad prepared and raced 911s in his youth.

Had he broken protocol, he would have risked not only his employment but also that dream that he isn’t yet ready to relinquish into his forties. His day in Formula E is likely to come, as he keeps one eye firmly trained on the long game.

Good week: Daniil Kvyat