Team orders were in play by the Ferrari team in Malaysia, a veteran formula one expert suspects.

Gary Anderson, a semi-retired grand prix car designer for teams like Jordan and Jaguar, thinks Felipe Massa was manipulated into second place at Sepang despite scoring pole position and leading race winner Kimi Raikkonen until the first pit stops.

A series of quick sectors put Finn Raikkonen in front during the pit stop shuffle, and shortly afterwards Massa spun into the gravel.

"The way in which Raikkonen went past Massa at the first stop makes me suspect that Ferrari had it planned from the outset," the Irishman told Swiss publication Motorsport Aktuell.

Anderson reckons Ferrari still operates a 'number one' driver policy, and highly rated reigning world champion Raikkonen, 28, is the obvious choice at present.

He said: "Don't forget, we are talking about a man who was brought in to replace the seven time world champion Michael Schumacher.

"For me, the key scene was the first corner, when Raikkonen was intelligent enough to not get involved in a collision with Felipe.

"Kimi always saw the bigger picture," Anderson added.

Meanwhile, Motorsport Aktuell also published a rumour that Honda's team CEO and former team principal Nick Fry could soon be drafted in as Super Aguri's new boss.