Felipe Massa

Brilliant driver on his day but is he championship material?

In 2008 he proved he was but thats only one occassion, plus that season the Ferrari TBH was a bit quicker and won more races that season. In 2009 he nearly suffered a career ending head-injury and since coming to back to the grid he hasn't really shown that promise he did in 2008.

Don't get me wrong he's a driver i very much like, but i do wonder if he'll be a title challenger again for Ferrari season in season out or if he'll stay at Ferrari much longer?

Whats your thoughts on Massa?

 

[Slyboogy]

Great job by Massa!

But I really do think someone should do a Ray and get Massa a new manager so that he doesn't get these strange pit strategies

Always gets great starts, but that always gets negated by there not being enough room, think he can spoil both McLaren's races if he gets a good start, and with that Ferrari being quite poor race pace wise and the DRS zone being relatively smaller overtaking here might be hard, (unless if he's left out on tyres that are off the cliff )

 

[landogeorgelewis1]

Will have my fingers-crossed that Massa gets a good result tomorrow and hopefully beat Alonso. Really would be annoyed if Ferrari were still playing favourite now especially since the championship is gone.

 

[RayInTorontoCanada]

Really would be annoyed if Ferrari were still playing favourite now especially since the championship is gone.

Exactly!

It's rubbish to think Ferrari care about Alonso finishing "second in the WDC".

Alonso ain't winnin' this title...so why should Ferrari purposely slow down one of their cars so that the other car can do what? Finish 4th in the GP?

No point subjugating what used to be a good driver for something as pathetic as that.

Brazil is a huge market for both Santander and for FIAT so you fight the battles that are worth fighting...and if Nando wants "2nd in the WDC", then bloody go out there and earn it if it's so important to him...but not at the expense of psycologically crushing the other driver who was ridiculed for "not showing up in the second half of 2010" by di Montezemolo.

Do people honestly think di Montezemolo cares one iota if Alonso finishes "2nd in the Championship"? Embarrassing!

Now...if there was a good chance that Ferrari could win this particular race, then that's a different matter.

But if Alonso ain't good enough to beat Massa at Suzuka on merit, then it's better they find out sooner rather than later so they can write the cheques to ditch Alonso and hire Vettel a few years earlier.

 

[f1fansp]

Someone really needs to get this boy some tissues.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/95216

 

[Brogan]

So much for keeping it on the track, eh Massa?

What happens on the track should remain on the track.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/95046

 

[Quintessentially]

But if Alonso ain't good enough to beat Massa at Suzuka on merit, then it's better they find out sooner rather than later so they can write the cheques to ditch Alonso and hire Vettel a few years earlier.

Massa is more than a willing party to Ferrari's games. Once again, he disgracefully parts like the red sea and allows the team leader through without a hint of pride or diginity. No shame, he just bent over and and took it like the whipping boy that he has become. I honestly fail to see what purpose Massa is serving at the moment and in Hamilton he's found the perfect scapegoat.

 

[Bill Boddy]

Is it Massa who keeps on running into Hamilton then?

 

[Brogan]

I don't think you can run into someone if you're in front of them, can you?

 

[Bill Boddy]

If Hamilton keeps running into Massa is it strange that he should get a little miffed eventually?

 

[Hamberg]

You should know your competition and where they are likely to place the car. Alonso is excellent at this as well as Button whereas I think Massa lacks a lot of judgement with Webber and Hamilton not far behind.

 

[Speshal]

Funnily enough when you search google images for lapdog this comes up first*

*actually it doesn't it's this

But it might as well be the way he's forced to yield every time. I almost feel sorry for him until he starts moaning about other drivers conduct. At least they are trying to win the race, can't be bad getting paid millions of dollars to move over for your team mate.

 

[Bill Boddy]

....
But it might as well be the way he's forced to yield every time. I almost feel sorry for him until he starts moaning about other drivers conduct. At least they are trying to win the race, can't be bad getting paid millions of dollars to move over for your team mate.

It might help him go faster if he didn't keep on having bits of his car knocked off. I also remember him moving over at Spa, look where that got him.

 

[FB]

It was a rather "ambitious" overtaking manoeuvre from Felipe, shall I say and I think he got what he deserves. BTW, anyone else hear the comments that Hamilton can't see out of his mirrors very well? Think I'll move that to the Hamilton thread...

 

[Fenderman]

Yeah. Chuckled initially but having watched it again I think he was referring to the vibration he would have been experiencing through 130R. By the time he was about to negotiate the chicane, having braked to a much lower speed, he was looking to his right through "the corner" not in his left mirror. One could argue that he should have looked in his left mirror then but most people tend to look where they are driving when turning into a corner. He did mention in his interview that "they [mirrors] vibrate so much down the straight".

 

[Slyboogy]

Well, I am not sure Massa expected Hamilton to move over to his side when he was more than half a car length ahead, not blaming either one of them, but think it's unfair to blame Massa fully for it.

Hamilton said that he couldn't see him in his mirrors because they were vibrating? They were entering one of the slowest corners on the track, also surely you can also hear a car that close?

I hope Massa leaves Ferrari and goes to Mercedes next year, I know this isn't worth much, but I was doing an interesting calculation after I saw a reply about Massa being "significantly worse" than Alonso if he was in his prime.

I wrote this in reply:

"I would like to see Ferrari give equal treatment to Massa when Alonso is his team-mate, I very much doubt he would be "significantly worse", and in the first half of 2010 up to Hockenheim, if you give Massa the win in Hockenheim the points would have been Alonso: 116 and Massa: 92 how that is "significantly worse" I don't know."

That's less than a win behind, one must wonder if there was any point in making Massa Number 2 this year as the title's been out of reach for some time, it would give Massa more confidence, it would be better for the team, and who knows, a rejuvanated Massa for next year...sadly no

 

[RayInTorontoCanada]

Yet again Ferrari gave Massa second class service. His pitstop - as Ferrari admitted - ought to have come a few laps earlier.

Why in hell bother having Felipe in that 2nd seat?

Either give him top class service - or cut him lose.

On the other hand, Ferrari pay like no one can...or no one else could or would when it comes to Felipe'.

I'm sure at least Felipe's bankers are happy!

 

[Vortex]

Bit hard to see any car in your mirrors when its along side of you tho, cant in my car either.

 

[RayInTorontoCanada]

Felipe was able to out-qualify Alonso again inspite of not having the new front wing development that the Number 1 Ferrari has been employing in Korea.

That's 4 times from the last 6 Grand Prix meetings that Felipe has been the faster Ferrari driver in Qually (Hungary, Spa, Suzuka and now here in Korea).

At Hungary and Suzuka, he let Alonso just sail by him so he'll be hoping for some help from the clean side (Alonso's concerned about being on the dirty side in 6th) and also by Webber and Rosberg.

If he can get his customary good start from the clean side and get the poor-starting Webber and Rosberg to hold off Alonso, Felipe might even get first call to the pits. But the Sun, the Moon and the Stars would need to line up for him to beat Alonso without the help of the new wing development that the Spaniard's got on the 150 Italia.

Good luck to Felipe'! It's about time he got some decent pit-strategy and pit-stop related service from the Scuderia!

And, hopefully, he won't be tangling with Hamilton (who probably won't want to see Felipe anywhere near him in his mirrors!)

 

[Galahad]

At Hungary and Suzuka, Alonso sailed past him because he was faster. If Massa had been 15 seconds ahead the issue wouldn't have arisen - unfortunately for Felipe, he never is.

The new front wing might not be working as well as the old one. Ferrari's 'upgrades' have been a bit unpredictable this year.

Still, we'll see tomorrow. I wouldn't rule Alonso out for another podium; not so sure about Massa.

 

[RayInTorontoCanada]

At Hungary and Suzuka, Alonso sailed past him because he was faster. If Massa had been 15 seconds ahead ...

So it's like JONES-REUT, then?

Carlos needed to be 10 seconds ahead of Jonesy for his Williams team not to call Team Orders.

Galahad, you're right, Alonso is faster than Massa. There's no doubt about it.

What's rather interesting is that Alonso never has to "fight" Massa to get by him.

Compare that to the McLaren drivers at places like China, Canada, Hungary and Italy and the like and it makes you wonder what would happen if Alonso came up on a teammate who was more like a Button, a Hamilton, a Webber, a Vettel, a Schumacher.

There's being "faster"...and then there's "having a free pass"...

It must be nice for Alonso to have it so easy at Ferrari with such a compliant teammate, a compliant teammate who's unlikely to be 15 seconds ahead even if he drove the wheels off the thing!