Surely Ferrari did not anticipate how far would the consequences of their Austrian Grand Prix decision go when they decided to impose team orders more than a month ago. With everybody focussing on what they would do at Sunday's European Grand Prix, the Italian team were under pressure to mend their damaged image, and it showed. Richard Barnes reviews Ferrari's actions during last weekend's race

My, what a tangled web we weave. Surely no other dominant 1-2 formation finish in the history of Formula One has attracted anything like the scrutiny that accompanied Rubens Barrichello's eventual victory in Sunday's European Grand Prix. Would Ferrari make the call, or had the lessons of Austria been taken to heart? Cynics chortled with glee at Ferrari's predicament, bookies held their breath, pitlane cameras homed in on Ross Brawn's hands hovering over the twin radio sets slung at his side, commentators mused on the ramifications of whatever the poker-faced Brawn was communicating to his drivers.

Hindsight shows that it was absurd to even contemplate the unthinkable, that Ferrari would again ask Rubens to pull over and sacrifice the race. Although to be fair, many believed that Ferrari wouldn't do it the first time in Austria either. This time, though, there would be no outcry. Although team orders were again evident from Ferrari, it was the safety-first procedure of ordering the two drivers to hold position, avoiding the risk of collision over the final laps. That is a common and approved tactic; asking the leading driver to sacrifice a win is not. If Ferrari's first display of overt manipulation had been foolhardy, a second would have been suicidal, especially coming just three days before the much-anticipated FIA hearing.

Whatever the final standings in Germany, Ferrari had got themselves into a dilemma of their own making, courtesy of Rubens Barrichello's aggressive start. When the Brazilian unexpectedly emerged ahead of his team leader after the first corner chaos, the rest of the race was always going to be about damage control and public relations.

It would have been easy to demote Barrichello with a pitstop gremlin or brake problems - although not even Ferrari are naive enough to believe people would buy into such transparency. Trust is a hard-earned virtue which Ferrari have signed away willingly. Ironically enough, that placed the Ferrari pit crew under intense pressure to perform flawlessly during Barrichello's crucial second stop, even when the most genuine and honest mistake would ultimately have benefited the team in the Championship. Thankfully for all concerned, they performed to their usual impeccable standard.

That left it up to Schumacher himself to resolve the situation in his favour, and for once he was found wanting. The German was visibly faster through some parts of the circuit and was able to reel in his teammate at will. Schumacher posted his fastest race laps on fresh tyres immediately after his stops, even with the higher fuel weight. With Schumacher pitting before Barrichello at both stops, a single trademark scorching out-lap on fresh rubber would have given him track position and a certain win. Uncharacteristically, however, Schumacher blew his first opportunity with a spin and lost the second to traffic problems.

In turn, that left Ferrari in a no-win situation. After Austria, the Ferrari hierarchy had defended their team orders decision fiercely. Racing is a team sport, and they considered it not only their right, but their stated policy, to manipulate results for the benefit of the team. In the post-race press conference in Austria, Schumacher stated that he looked forward to the Championship being won, so that he and Barrichello could return to racing. It was an unfortunate choice of words, as Schumacher's six points at the Nurburgring most certainly did not win the Championship. Why, then, did Ferrari not follow through on their stated policy of favouring the team leader?

As horrible as it may be to contemplate, Michael Schumacher could still suffer a season-ending crash, and could still lose this year's Championship as a result. If Ferrari's guiding principle is to secure Championship triumph as early and as decisively as possible, then Sunday's decision sold out that principle. In Austria, Ferrari sacrificed public relations in favour of material gain. In Europe, they did the opposite. Solid, defendable principles are not compromised by public opinion.

Ferrari apologists will claim that the Scuderia were damned if they did, and damned if they didn't, and that is correct. Ferrari have been subjected to a Western-style lynching by the public and media. They cannot blame the lynch mob, though, for they supplied the rope, the tree and the prancing horse.

Of course the above is an idealised and rigid argument of principle. Of course the entire Ferrari hierarchy realised that Austria was a catastrophic PR blunder. And of course their defence of the team orders was not borne out of genuine conviction for their cause, but rather the universal desire to rationalise mistakes and be judged blameless for their actions. After all, accountability is anathema in our society. Added to this is the common misconception that success equates to blamelessness, that a warehouse full of trophies brings absolution from mistakes. Little wonder, then, that Ferrari erred in crossing the bounds of acceptability in Austria.

Team orders have always been part of F1, everybody accepts that. Ferrari's mistake lay not in the issuing of the order, but rather in the blatant implementation of it. Superficially, it seems hypocritical to approve team orders tacitly, provided they are carried out with subtlety. Yet, with subtlety comes 'reasonable doubt', the foundation of our society. F1 is also part showbiz, so suspension of disbelief is key to its success. 'Reasonable doubt' helps to suspend disbelief, team orders do not. As long as the fans feel that they have probably witnessed a fair race, then bungled pitstops, 'brake problems' and all the other team order modus operandi will be accepted at face value.

Ross Brawn's post-race assertion that 'we're only human, we also learn from our mistakes' was probably the most telling comment of the entire weekend. Coming from a team of fiercely proud and competitive professionals, hell-bent on winning at all costs, it's as close to an apology or admission of guilt as can be expected. Still, it was an important concession on Brawn's part, and one that bodes well for the future.

Even with their recent image problems, Ferrari are still in the sort of situation that most team owners can only dream about, and one that Sir Frank Williams and Ron Dennis can only vaguely remember.

The confidence of the Williams challenge, so tangible early in the season, has evaporated. The pairing of Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya, so hungry and assured in Brazil and Malaysia, now seems listless and demotivated. To top it all, the Williams strategies remain as enigmatic as ever. Even when Montoya's used soft compound tyres predictably failed to withstand the wear of a one-stop race, the team seemed loath to even consider bringing him in and changing the strategy.

It's amazing to think that this Williams team terrified Ferrari so much that the Scuderia were willing to sacrifice public opinion simply to gain a four-point competitive edge in the one-sided race for the Championship. After three successive last-gasp misses in the 1997, '98 and '99 seasons, their concerns were understandable. That is ancient history now - Ferrari and Schumacher have rewritten the record books ever since Australia 2000, and look set to push those benchmarks even further in 2002. How many more dominant years will it take before Ferrari start racing like a team who know they're the best, rather than a team who're scared that they aren't?

Whatever the outcome of the FIA hearing, the Nurburgring race brought a sense of closure to the team orders controversy. Placed in a no-win situation, Ferrari did their best to atone for the mistakes of the recent past. This doesn't mean that team orders will now be consigned to history. Ferrari will continue to favour Schumacher at every turn. It's just that, from now on, they won't be so blatant about it. They'll give the cynics reasonable doubt, and show a modicum of respect for fans who expect hard but fair racing. With the bitter lessons of Austria behind them, and another pair of Championships all but secured, Ferrari can look forward to a fresh start in two weeks. Roll on Silverstone.