No preference given to either driver

For those at WilliamsF1 the issue of team orders is not one to be considered unless of course one driver has no chance of winning the title and as such will asked to assist the other driver.

The history of the WilliamsF1 team has been one of allowing their drivers to race, even at times with the chance that the championship may be lost as a result, such as in 1986 where Piquet and Mansell lost the championship to Alain Prost. One person who remembers that time is WilliamsF1 Technical Director Patrick Head.

Head said: "We do remember 1986. But we are not in a position according to our contracts and we certainly made no attempts to negotiate a position where we can give preference to one driver over the other.

"The only situation where that arises is when one driver can win the Championship and the other driver can't and then the driver that can't is in a position where he has to help the other driver. That situation is not with us."

As for the use of team orders, as was the case in 2002 where Ferrari impose team orders on Rubens Barrichello to hand the lead to Michael Schumacher in the Austrian Grand Prix, Head has a very different view.

Head added: "We have a different philosophy to Ferrari. Ours is similar to McLaren's and that allowed past Championships when McLaren and Williams have been dominant to be interesting as opposed to being as dull like last year.

"Personally our opinion is that the Championship and motor racing is more important than a single company, but Ferrari don't hold that view. I am sure it will be a hard-fought battle all the way to the end of the year."

But as we are presented with the sight of both the WilliamsF1 drivers closing in on the lead in the drivers title it will be interesting to watch as to how the WilliamsF1 team handles its drivers in their challenge for the title.