Martin Brundle thinks Ferrari should have ordered Felipe Massa to pull aside for his Ferrari teammate Fernando Alonso during Sunday’s Australian GP.
After spinning at the first corner, Spaniard Alonso clawed his way through the field and "found himself on the gearbox" of the sister F10, former grand prix driver Brundle told BBC Sport on Monday.
Brundle, now a commentator for British TV, said he dislikes team orders but believes Alonso, leading the championship by four points from Brazilian Massa, could have launched an attack on Robert Kubica in second place.
"If he failed then move Massa back in front," he added, arguing that Ferrari "will need every point they can" to win this year’s world championship.
"If Ferrari had moved them around, I believe Alonso would have finished second in the race and that he was also quick enough to apply pressure to (race winner) Button," said the Briton.
But despite Ferrari’s approach to F1 in the past, current team boss Stefano Domenicali insists that team orders are no longer an option.
"Everyone has two cars," he told reporters in Australia.
"Unless some teams want to drive with one car, and if you have good drivers, then that has to be the nature of formula one," the Italian added.
In his media round, Alonso played a typically straight bat, telling Spanish reporters he did not want to do anything "silly" to risk a collision with his own teammate.