Question: when are team orders not team orders? When it's called 'team strategy'. That's what McLaren called their decision to tell their drivers to back off and not fight each other for the lead at Monaco a fortnight ago. It seems McLaren, and Ron Dennis in particular, have very short memories.
Team orders have been banned since 2002, and for good reason. At the Austrian Grand Prix that year Rubens Barrichello was ordered by Ferrari to hand the lead over to teammate Michael Schumacher. It infuriated the crowd who booed the podium ceremony and it prompted FIA to take action by banning team orders. As I recall, the other teams weren't too chuffed either.
The FIA has decided not to take action against McLaren for what happened in the principality, finding that no rules had been broken. To some extent it is possible to have a little sympathy with the British team.
Monaco is not a place for overtaking. When cars are as close as Alonso and Hamilton's there is normally only one way to get past; when a driver makes a mistake. With the barriers within inches of the cars, a mistake normally means a crash and that could have taken out one, or both McLarens. That's why Ron Dennis uttered the sentence that caused the furore: 'There will be places where they are absolutely free to race, but this isn't one of them.'
The other thing to point out is that this is nothing like Austria. Hamilton was behind Alonso, he wasn't being asked to move aside for him. As a team, McLaren have a duty to get a one-two finish if at all possible. For them, the constructor's championship is just as important as the driver's version. With Ferrari having a rare off weekend, it was a chance to rack up the points. The fight between the two teams is close and unpredictable and McLaren know they may not be so dominant in Montreal this weekend.
Being on a different pit-stop strategy didn't help Hamilton's cause. If the safety car had come out he probably would have won the race. But it didn't and that is a variable the team can't control.