Thread: Felipe Massa

Originally Posted by zako85

You could say the same thing about Webber last year. He couldn't do better than Vettel's worst finish (2nd) until German GP, when Vettel's then current worst finish became 4th place.

Fair point, but still, there's a massive difference between Webber's 2011 and Massa's 2012. Failing to score and being lapped by your teammate, who happens to take second in the race, is quite indicative of how poorly Massa is driving. He was handed a drive-through penalty, but he was already nowhere before then. Alonso qualified in 3rd and Massa, in 17th - that alone speaks volumes.

Originally Posted by iva.rpm

There are some rumors I've heard here in Brazil about Felipe Massa being replaced by the Canadian GP. They say that Adrian Sutil may drive for Ferrari in the remaining races of the 2012 season.

Movimentação nos boxes de Barcelona aumenta rumores sobre saída de Massa da Ferrari - Fórmula 1 - UOL Esporte (in Portuguese)

Great news for my FGP team if it happens. I have "Slash" as my backup driver.

Even allowing 15-18 seconds for Massa's drive through, and even allowing a few seconds for Alonso's tyres dropping off after his valiant pursuit of Maldonado, the Brazillian still finished more than a lap down. Webber's not a match for Vettel, that's fair enough, but in Seb's title years he was usually not too far behind, bringing back a solid haul of points week in week out. If Felipe could be relied upon to be a solid #2 then I don't think Ferrari would be too bothered, but at the moment it's Fernando doing all the donkey work while Massa... well, he's just being a donkey.

I just hope Sutil doesn't try to kill somebody this time.

Originally Posted by iva.rpm

I just hope Sutil doesn't try to kill somebody this time.

He will be ok. Alonso is the one who may need an extra body gaurd to keep an eye on Slash

Originally Posted by iva.rpm

I just hope Sutil doesn't try to kill somebody this time.

Don't worry, He'l be close to a win until Kimi forgets to brake!

Originally Posted by SGWilko

Don't worry, He'l be close to a win until Kimi forgets to brake!

Or The Boss may be close to a win when Slash forgets to brake

Originally Posted by Dr Giacomo Rappaccini

Or The Boss may be close to a win when Slash forgets to brake

A revenge swipe? Like it!

Originally Posted by aryan

Sure, he was better than 2011-2012 Filipe, but his form in that Sauber was nothing to brag about. I seem to remember him running into his teammates on quite a number of occassions.

In 3 years, there are opportunities to stand out in a midfield car, and Filipe never stood out. If it wasn't for the Ferrari engine, I'm sure Peter Sauber wouldn't have even run him. Let's face it, there were much better drivers deserving of that Ferrari drive in 2006, if it was for on pure merit. But Todt had a fascination with him that I never understood.

I remember making a calculation that in terms of speed Massa was as close to Heidfeld as Räikkönen had been the year before on his debut season. So he was quite promising already then. Sure he was making mistakes, but several rookies have had very error-prone first seasons. His 2004 season against Fisichella wasn't particularly impressive, but he seemed to gain some speed at the end of the season, qualifying 4th for the last few races.

Felipe didn't exactly stand out, but looked set to become at least a decent midfielder, a'la Panis. And a 'decent midfielder' is a kind of driver, who can be considered for a #2 driver role in a top team as well. The Todt connection certainly helped, but I never thought he was a ridiculous choice by any means, when Ferrari made the decision in 2005.

To be honest, current Pérez looks quite similar to what Massa was back then. Sure he got a second place, about which you could say that he has stood out, but the Massa-era Sauber was never ever fast enough in any race to bag a podium. And if Pérez is hired by Ferrari, will it be considered as a fine choice or as a ridiculous choice motivated by money? Based on that we can evaluate Massa's past hiring by Ferrari as well.

Originally Posted by SGWilko

A revenge swipe? Like it!

I can see it now, Boss gets out of his ride and ejaculates:
"Hey Slash what are you blind? Couldn't you see me? Slash retorts:
No I couldn't see you any better than you could see that b@stard Lux when he side-punched me in Shanghai.....bro!!

Originally Posted by Dr Giacomo Rappaccini

No Sir! I wish I could tell you who I was, but I was guilty of PUI yesterday

PUI? :/

Oh well, carry on, everyone!

With all the media pressure on Ferrari, especially with Alonso outperforming the car, I would have expected Felipe to be much closer after his abysmal start. Sadly, he hasn't responded enough, IMO, to keep his job. He's certainly out by the end of the year, and I'm now with the camp that believes he will not last this season.

Originally Posted by N. Jones

PUI? :/

Oh well, carry on, everyone!

Posting under the influence
Canadian Blended

Massa is costing Ferrari dearly in the WCC. With Alonso co-leading the championship it would be reasonable to expect that the team would be fairly close to top of the WCC table as well. Instead Ferrari trail Red Bull by 46 points after just 5 races. Without a dramatic turnaround Ferrari are looking at 5th or 6th in the WCC regardless of where Alonso finishes in the WDC. That's costing Ferrari real money. Not only are they paying Massa millions but his lack of results is costing them millions more.

From a pure business decision they should look at how much it will cost to terminate Massa's contract (or even demote him and keep him as 'test' driver) plus how much it will cost to buy out the contract of someone like Perez and balance that against the potential money lost by finishing 5th or 6th in the WCC as opposed to 3rd, which is where they should finish. I'm willing to bet it will be cheaper to pay Massa not to drive than it is to have him driving the car.

Who better to help Ferrari keep Hamilton at bay than Sutil??? I mean who's got it out for Hamilton more than Sutil?? After Hamilton left him hanging dry during his slasher court date!!!
Alonso qualifies towards the front; Sutil about midfield. Hamilton/ McLaren will undoubtedly do something that will cost Hamilton grid spaces and he'll somehow end up near Sutil, who will pick up where Massa left off last year.
It's looking more and more like the stars are lining up for Ferrari and Alonso to pull off the Championship of the decade!!

Originally Posted by Hawkmoon

From a pure business decision they should look at how much it will cost to terminate Massa's contract (or even demote him and keep him as 'test' driver) plus how much it will cost to buy out the contract of someone like Perez and balance that against the potential money lost by finishing 5th or 6th in the WCC as opposed to 3rd, which is where they should finish. I'm willing to bet it will be cheaper to pay Massa not to drive than it is to have him driving the car.

It can't be easy to find a driver who fills the requirements;
1. Has similar driving style than Alonso
2. Fast enough to score top5 places
3. Slow enough not to challenge Alonso in any way
4. Has experience in F1
5. Is willing to drive as n.2 driver
6. Is capable of driving without much support from the team.
7. Is cheap enough

Originally Posted by janneppi

It can't be easy to find a driver who fills the requirements;
1. Has similar driving style than Alonso
2. Fast enough to score top5 places
3. Slow enough not to challenge Alonso in any way
4. Has experience in F1
5. Is willing to drive as n.2 driver
6. Is capable of driving without much support from the team.
7. Is cheap enough

You have just described Jarno Trulli

Rubens?

Originally Posted by janneppi

It can't be easy to find a driver who fills the requirements;
1. Has similar driving style than Alonso
2. Fast enough to score top5 places
3. Slow enough not to challenge Alonso in any way
4. Has experience in F1
5. Is willing to drive as n.2 driver
6. Is capable of driving without much support from the team.
7. Is cheap enough

heidfeld