After his MP4-24 was slightly touched in the rear by Mark Webber's Red Bull RB5 in the very first corner of the German race, the Merc-powered car suffered a puncture which forced the reigning world champion to visit the pits after only one lap. Knowing that he wouldn't have a chance of making the scoreboard until the end, the Brit asked his team, via the radio, if it wouldn't be more appropriate to abandon the race and preserve the engine.
After the information surfaced in the media shortly after the race, Lauda pointed some clear fingers at Hamilton. “I wouldn't have dared. A driver should drive because that's what he is paid to do,” said the Austrian champion.
Haug, on the other hand, publicly questioned Lauda'a authority to give any advices on the matter, given his problematic past in F1.
“I get the feeling that people are simply looking for anything to criticize. Someone who says he 'wouldn't have dared' should remember when he drove into the pits and gave up a race,” Haug was quoted as saying by the GMM news agency.
What the German official is making a clear referral to is the unforgettable 1976 Japanese Grand Prix, at Fuji Speedway. Although Lauda was 3 points clear of title rival James Hunt with one race to go, a torrential rain during race day forced the Austrian driver to enter the pits after only 2 laps. He argued that it was too unsafe to drive an F1 machinery under those weather conditions. Hunt eventually finished the race in 3rd place and grabbed what could have been Lauda's 4th world title in Formula One.
Google News