A famous victim of team orders, Felipe Massa has nonetheless backed Mercedes’ decision to rob Valtteri Bottas of victory in Russia.
At Hockenheim in 2010, Ferrari famously told Massa to move aside for his teammate by declaring on the radio: "Fernando (Alonso) is faster than you."
But Massa told Corriere della Sera that Mercedes did nothing wrong at Sochi when it manipulated championship leader Lewis Hamilton into the lead.
"Changing a winner in that way is never a good thing, but it’s part of the game," he told the Italian newspaper.
"Maybe there was not so much need to do it at that race but everyone is free to choose. And maybe Ferrari has been a bit lacking in these tactics this year.
"Of course I don’t like it, but as long as the rules are like they are, it can happen. Team orders are part of F1," said Massa.