![\"Paddy-Lowe-2\"](\"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/gallery\/f1-2014-rif-images\/f1-2014-persons\/Paddy-Lowe-2.jpg\")
Heading for a sure one-two, Lowe – who rarely talks to Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg during races – told the pair ten laps from the end to “make sure we bring both cars home”.<\/p>\nMercedes boss Paddy Lowe insists his drivers did not ignore a clear team order during Sunday’s Bahrain grand prix.<\/p>\n
Heading for a sure one-two, Lowe – who rarely talks to Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg during races – told the pair ten laps from the end to “make sure we bring both cars home”.<\/p>\n
To many listeners, it was a clear team order.<\/p>\n
“Ok,” Rosberg responded, before launching a series of scintillating attacks on Hamilton.<\/p>\n
Afterwards, team chairman Niki Lauda revelled in the spectacle, laughing that Rosberg and Hamilton clearly “didn’t listen” to Lowe.<\/p>\n
Team director Toto Wolff, however, insists the drivers were free to race.<\/p>\n
“The guys are racing,” he is quoted by Welt newspaper, “but in the context of a philosophy.”<\/p>\n
The apparent philosophy is ‘don’t crash’.<\/p>\n
Briton Lowe said afterwards he was happy the silver-clad pair complied.<\/p>\n
“It made me happier than anything,” he insisted.\u00a0 “It was one of the best races in a decade.<\/p>\n
“That (radio message) was not to hold position, I just wanted to remind them to give each other space.”<\/p>\n
According to Spiegel, Wolff agreed: “They knew not to do anything stupid in the third race.”<\/p>\n
Rosberg also insisted that Lowe’s radio call was not a team order.<\/p>\n
“I was well aware that the whole world was thinking ‘here we go, team orders’, but it wasn’t that at all.<\/p>\n
“The message was clear anyway, not really necessary to give such a message because we drive very hard but in the end with the necessary respect but we’re free to race all the way,” said the German.<\/p>\n
Another ‘team order’ issued in Bahrain was to world champion Sebastian Vettel, who was holding up the clearly faster sister Red Bull driven by team newcomer Daniel Ricciardo.<\/p>\n
“Sebastian,” Vettel’s engineer told him, “can you let Ricciardo past, he is faster than you.”<\/p>\n
Vettel complied, leaving an Australian as the star of the champion team in the floodlit desert, and of the 2014 season so far.<\/p>\n
“Daniel has exceeded expectations,” team boss Christian Horner is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport.<\/p>\n
“He has proved that he can compete with the best.\u00a0 We knew that he was good, but how good exactly was not entirely clear to us,” he added.<\/p>\n
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