Back in 2002, we Formula 1 fans had our intelligence insulted when Ferrari blatantly ordered Rubens Barrichello to let Michael Schumacher past him to win the Austrian Grand Prix. The outcry was deafening, and deservedly so. To use an old English expression, Ferrari were "taking the piss", insulting the intelligence of casual spectators and fans alike. Despite all manner of weasel words from the likes of Jean Todt, Ferrari found themselves on the wrong end of a tidal wave of condemnation.
Officially, team orders are now banned in Formula 1. However, it seems that teams are still engaging in team orders, the only objective now being to meet the infamous Rule 1 (Rule 1: Don't get caught).
Today Ferrari once again insulted the intelligence of racing fans by indirectly telling Felipe Massa to move over for Fernando Alonso in the 2010 German Grand Prix. Before I continue, I must say that if anybody from Ferrari tries to claim otherwise, I will burst out laughing. The communication from Rob Smedley to Felipe Massa ("Fernando is faster. Do you understand?") is clearly coded language for "move over and let Fernando into the lead". If anybody from Ferrari tries to claim otherwise, I would dearly like to hear a response along the lines of "just how much do you think that you can insult our intelligence?".
Joe Saward has nailed the whole affair on his blog. As he points out, Fernando Alonso is doing himself and Formula 1 no favours by complaining about media questioning. If he doesn't want to be asked awkward questions about how he won the race, then he should either win it fair and square (and stop whining "this is ridiculous" over the radio when Massa makes his car wider), or tell Ferrari to stop issuing team orders in code. Either way, he is not going to get much respect from racing fans until he stops being handed race wins.
As for the $100,000 fine for Ferrari from the race stewards, my understanding is that this is the maximum that the stewards could fine them. For a team with Ferrari's budget, this is chump change, and it is unlikely to have much effect. In a highly competitive sport such as F1, the only punishment that changes behaviour is being denied the opportunity to compete. A one race ban from F1 for Ferrari would be far more effective at sending the message that this sort of shoddy practice is not tolerable.
The other alternative is to allow team orders once again. However, in my opinion, that will erode the credibility of Formula 1 even further. The sport is already lacking in transparency compared to other forms of top-flight motor racing such as NASCAR. There are multi-car teams in NASCAR, and while they may work together for part of a race (particularly on the drafting circuits such as Daytona and Talladega), at some point in a race it is every driver for himself. There is also a ban on encryption of pit-to-car radios, so anybody can listen in on radio chatter, which is very different from Formula 1, where we are merely listening to whatever snippets of unencrypted radio chatter that the TV broadcast director considers to be important.
The tempting answer for the FIA would be to allow team orders back into Formula 1. However, for the reasons that I explained above, allowing team orders will further devalue the spectacle of two car teams. We can never be sure that drivers in the same team are even racing each other at all. Nick Fry understands this, as he explains in Autosport today:

"Personally I think the show is the most important thing," he said. "I heard David Coulthard talk about the history and the fact there always were team orders, but I think times have changed.
"This is sport and the fans out there want to see the drivers fighting. While the teams think it is a teams' championship, most of the fans - possibly with the exception of Ferrari - support the drivers who happen to drive for a team.
"I think we have to let them fight it out and only intervene if it is getting out of hand, and they are knocking each other off."

Many other Formula 1 figures, including David Coulthard, seem to think that this is perfectly normal practice and it should be allowed. Sorry, but that shows a high degree of introversion. It is also amusingly ironic to see Coulthard, who by all accounts was penalized by team orders at several points during his career, to be defending this practice.
Formula 1 has no magic entitlement to audiences. Many casual viewers will take one look at this result and conclude that the sport is rigged. This is not an image that any sport can promulgate and expect to thrive with.
UPDATE - It is my belief that the order to move Felipe Massa out of the way could have been executed in a way that was pretty transparent to viewers. However, Ferrari made a major mistake in asking Rob Smedley to relay the request. Smedley is head of Massa's team of mechanics. He is an advocate for Massa, he can be expected to fight for his driver. By demanding that he personally relay the message to Massa, Ferrari put him in an impossible position. Smedley's unsubtle reading of the message is exactly what I would have done in his situation.
If team politics or commercial considerations require a driver to swap places with his team-mate, that order should come from the team principal, so as to not make the driver's own team supporters have to be the bad guys. By demanding that Smedley relay the message, Ferrari leadership showed themselves to be cowards. Smedley and Massa's responses are exactly what I would have expected from them. It is borderline insubordination, but Ferrari cannot sanction either man without having to deal with a tidal wave of anger from within and outside the sport, so I do not expect anything to happen to either man in the short term.
UPDATE 2 - The real story here, which nobody is talking about, is why this order was issued in the first place. My own speculation is that Felipe Massa's new contract has made him the de facto number 2 driver, with Alonso now getting priority within the team. However, Ferrari probably cannot disclose this publicly. The reality is that Santander have invested a small fortune into Formula 1 and specifically Ferrari, they are rumored to be paying Alonso's salary for this year as part of the deal to get him into the team in 2010 instead of 2011. They want Alonso to be the favoured driver within the team as a result. The presence of Santander's CEO in the Ferrari garage, next to none other than Piero Lardi Ferrari, bears out the current importance of the relationship between Ferrari and Santander.
If I was a formula 1 journalist I would be trying my utmost to find out exactly what the two drivers' contracts say with respect to their status within the team.
UPDATE 2 - I commented over at James Allen's blog on the latest pompous bloviations from Ferrari as they attempt to retrospectively justify and spin their actions. My comment is #705 in a very long thread...