Felipe Massa

**Hawkmoon** · 18th Mar 12, 09:53

How long are Ferrari going to put up with Massa's poor performances? In 2010 he was back from his injury and they cut him some slack and rightly so. In 2011 he was further behind Alonso and still Ferrari said no problem but we'll need to see an improvement next year. Then comes 2012 and Massa is even further behind his teammate. Enough is enough.

Fair enough, the F2012 isn't a very good car at the moment but Massa was so far behind Alonso this weekend that it's no longer just disappointing, it's pathetic. I haven't felt this negative towards a Ferrari driver since Capelli in '92. After today I think I'd rather have Capelli.

Massa struggled to get out of Q1 and never looked like getting into Q3. In the same car Alonso would have easily made Q3 but for his spin, admittedly an error on his part. In the race Alonso dragged the car up to 5th. Massa? He spent most of the race going backwards and at one point I thought Trulli was in the car such was the train of cars lined up behind him.

I never expected that Massa would beat Alonso as he simply isn't in Alonso's class but he was a full second behind in both Q1 and Q2 and his fastest lap of the race was 1.2 seconds off Alonso's best. In my opinion he no longer deserves a Ferrari drive.

Ferrari don't have the luxury of carrying an under-performing driver this year as they are going to need every point they can get to stay ahead of Lotus and Mercedes. Were I Domenicalli and Di Montezemolo I would be on the phone to Sauber and asking how much is it going to cost to get Perez in the second Ferrari. Free engines for the year? Done!

Whatever it was that Massa had up until his accident in 2009 has gone and with it his career at Maranello.

**janneppi** · 18th Mar 12, 10:07

I don't think has much to say about the car handling when it differes from what alonso wants, if their driving styles are too different it's Massa who has to cope, and it seems he hasn't been able to do so. He's hired to be the number 2 driver and that's what he's doing.

Ferrari doesn't really have much options, none of the top drivers really want to be at Ferrari when Alonso is in such a strong position and I doubt that less exprienced drivers would do any better than Massa.

**F1boat** · 18th Mar 12, 10:41

Originally Posted by janneppi

I don't think has much to say about the car handling when it differes from what alonso wants, if their driving styles are too different it's Massa who has to cope, and it seems he hasn't been able to do so. He's hired to be the number 2 driver and that's what he's doing.

Ferrari doesn't really have much options, none of the top drivers really want to be at Ferrari when Alonso is in such a strong position and I doubt that less exprienced drivers would do any better than Massa.

This is true, unfortunately. It is very difficult to have a motivated nu2 driver. Maybe only Nick Heidfeld will do a better job than Massa. Quick Nick know how to score big points with bad cars and IMO will be a happy nu2 driver. Massa was mighty, on his day, but no longer... Kind of sad, really

**EuroTroll** · 18th Mar 12, 10:43

Originally Posted by janneppi

Ferrari doesn't really have much options, none of the top drivers really want to be at Ferrari when Alonso is in such a strong position and I doubt that less exprienced drivers would do any better than Massa.

The benefit of hiring a promising youngster, of course, is that even if he was initially much slower than Alonso, it wouldn't be so pathetic. And there would be hope of better things to come.

I'm really sorry for Massa because that accident ruined his previously quite excellent career, but what can you do... When you're consistently a second a lap slower than your team-mate, you're clearly in the wrong team.

If it was my decision, I'd gamble with Jean-Eric Vergne from Toro Rosso. He's going to be a bit good, I think.

**jens** · 18th Mar 12, 10:50

Although we have had just one race of 20 and one can claim a single race doesn't make a season, we are now dealing with a case of a driver, who has been underwhelming for 2+ years, not just a single race. And this is a serious issue.

To be frank, I don’t see why (and probably many think in the same way) was Massa kept even for this season. I have to say that in the past I have been cheering for Felipe, especially when he was at his prime a few years ago and fighting for wins. But by now he has completely lost it, and it is sad to see such agony.

Massa’s performance doesn’t justify even his place in F1 any more, let alone Ferrari. If I was a team boss of a random midfield team, can’t say I would be interested in the services of the Brazilian. Only the likes of Caterham and Marussia could be interested in getting some top team experience. So not only Massa’s Ferrari career, but his whole F1 career is quickly coming to an end.

Of course as the car is difficult to drive, it is unlikely that a replacement driver would be significantly better. Massa reminds me Grosjean or Fisichella from the end of 2009, when they were nowhere in a difficult car. There is high possibility the replacement driver would be struggling like that as well, especially with no testing.

But then again Massa is now part of past and Ferrari should be looking to the future – the sooner the better. And there is nothing to lose while they are right now not getting many or any points at all. Midfield is full of exciting young talents and if I was Domenicali, I would be actively in touch with them, evaluating their progress and hiring someone for 2013, be it Pérez, Kobayashi, Hülkenberg, di Resta, Ricciardo, Vergne. Plenty of choice.

If you want mid-season replacement and none of them are available, Alguersuari or Sutil are options.

Oh yes, Trulli is available too and Stefano and Luca diM would be able to claim that they are actually supporting Italian drivers.

But he is old and likely not going to perform well.

**Uneven Treatment** · 18th Mar 12, 10:51

Poor Felipe, seems an almost broken man. A broken man who drives fast cars every 2nd weekend for millions of dollars and gets to hang out with supermodels whenever he likes. But broken nevertheless.

Hard to see why on recent form Ferrari continue to employ him. Is it a hang over from the days when they were dominant and they actively only wanted one top driver to avoid intra-team conflict? Seems they are now a mid grid team with the mindset of a front runner.

**BDunnell** · 18th Mar 12, 11:06

Originally Posted by studiose

I'm really sorry for Massa because that accident ruined his previously quite excellent career, but what can you do...

I don't think what happened in Germany in 2011 helped his morale, either.

**Dave B** · 18th Mar 12, 11:27

Massa strikes me as the sort of chap who is constantly telling himself not to screw up, so much that he inevitably...

**N. Jones** · 18th Mar 12, 11:47

Patrick Head is believed to have said, paraphrasing "once a driver is involved in a huge accident he never regains his speed."
I think Felipe Massa fits this statement perfectly.

It's sad but I think he career is over.

**fandango** · 18th Mar 12, 11:55

Originally Posted by N. Jones

Patrick Head is believed to have said, paraphrasing "once a driver is involved in a huge accident he never regains his speed."
I think Felipe Massa fits this statement perfectly.

It's sad but I think he career is over.

Hakkinen or Lauda, to name just two, might have something to say to that. However, I agree with the general sentiment here. Poor Felipe, I've always liked him, but if he doesn't do something impressive soon he's not going to see out the season.

The obvious choice to replace him would be Alguersuari. They could take him on for the rest of the season and then see how Kubica is. Jaume has experience of the Ferrari engine, and he has the drive and motivation to get the most out of the car, combined with enough experience to bring it home in one piece regularly.

**The Black Knight** · 18th Mar 12, 13:17

Originally Posted by fandango

Hakkinen or Lauda, to name just two, might have something to say to that. However, I agree with the general sentiment here. Poor Felipe, I've always liked him, but if he doesn't do something impressive soon he's not going to see out the season.

The obvious choice to replace him would be Alguersuari. They could take him on for the rest of the season and then see how Kubica is. Jaume has experience of the Ferrari engine, and he has the drive and motivation to get the most out of the car, combined with enough experience to bring it home in one piece regularly.

Ferrari would be mad to take on Kubica. It'd be taking a driver that lost it in a big accident and potentially replacing with another driver who might also have lost it. Kubica is an unknown entity after his crash. Hiring him without seeing if he still has it would be madness. I think Sutil would be a good replacement for Felipe. It's excuse after excuse with him but nothing at this stage can cover up that Felipe has truly lost his mojo.

I feel sorry for him as he's a likeable fella but I think his career is pretty much over. I can't see why any other team would hire him.

**Mia 01** · 18th Mar 12, 13:20

If they want to change driver I think they should concider Rubens again.

**Dave B** · 18th Mar 12, 13:34

If Ferrari want a new driver they need someone who will support Alonso but who can also be groomed to step up to #1 driver when the Spaniard leaves/retires.

Kubica's almost certainly not going to race F1 again but even if he did come back wouldn't fit the #2 mould; Barrichello undoubtedly has experience but doesn't have a long-term racing career ahead of him.

Someone like Perez would be ideal: he'd jump at the chance and would quite happily play rear gunner to Fernando, he's also young enough that he could be a long term driver for the team.

Whatever, Massa's surely on borrowed time. It's only the first race of the season so there's plenty of time for improvement, but I can't imagine Ferrari management were impressed with his performance this weekend.

**EuroTroll** · 18th Mar 12, 13:44

Originally Posted by Mia 01

If they want to change driver I think they should concider Rubens again.

I'm sorry, but that's funny!

**N. Jones** · 18th Mar 12, 14:14

Originally Posted by fandango

Hakkinen or Lauda, to name just two, might have something to say to that. However, I agree with the general sentiment here. Poor Felipe, I've always liked him, but if he doesn't do something impressive soon he's not going to see out the season.

The obvious choice to replace him would be Alguersuari. They could take him on for the rest of the season and then see how Kubica is. Jaume has experience of the Ferrari engine, and he has the drive and motivation to get the most out of the car, combined with enough experience to bring it home in one piece regularly.

Yes, I was thinking of Hakkinen when I wrote that!
I have to admit though that once Mika won his two championships he seemed to stop trying. David Coultard once said that Mika stopped driving one of the old McLaren cars when he and David we reunited a few years ago because "he got scared".

Lauda - I did forget about him. Wasn't the sentiment that Olivier Panis' career was ruined after he broke both legs in a crash in Canada?

Anyway, I like Felipe too, especially how he handled himself after losing the world championship by one lousy point...

**Malbec** · 18th Mar 12, 14:24

I like Massa a lot. I admire and respect Alonso as one of the best drivers in history but Massa is the one I support from the Ferrari duo. That said it is painful to see him drive at the moment and I have to ask, does he even enjoy turning up every other weekend to be outpaced by his teammate to this degree every time? Is driving a red F1 car worth that assault on his dignity? Previously I have said that his drop off in performance may be due to the Pirellis not being to his liking but he's had enough time to adjust. The excuses are running out.

Originally Posted by fandango

The obvious choice to replace him would be Alguersuari. They could take him on for the rest of the season and then see how Kubica is. Jaume has experience of the Ferrari engine, and he has the drive and motivation to get the most out of the car, combined with enough experience to bring it home in one piece regularly.

I disagree, Red Bull have openly said that they do not believe Alguersuari has what it takes to be a top driver, especially in terms of intelligence. I might disagree with the fact that they made this information public but I do not dispute their conclusions as they've tested him long enough. Why would Ferrari want to take him on?

Kubica is not going to be back in F1 sadly. People say Massa isn't the same after what turned out to be a head injury with no longstanding effects, Kubica's injuries are on a different scale and currently we have little indication that he has returned to the level of physical function attained by most people on this forum let alone a honed top F1 driver.

If Ferrari are desperate they can call Sauber and take Perez or possibly Kobayashi (maybe they can get Bianchi as a replacement). Alternatively if this season is going to be written off, let Massa finish the season with dignity and pick one of the many top drivers whose contracts finish this season.

**Knock-on** · 18th Mar 12, 15:26

I was thinking about starting this thread after Q but thought he might just be a bit rusty. I hope Ferrari keep him

**SlowSon** · 18th Mar 12, 15:33

Originally Posted by jens

To be frank, I don’t see why (and probably many think in the same way) was Massa kept even for this season.

Dont you know who his manager is?

**Koz** · 18th Mar 12, 15:54

Originally Posted by SlowSon

Dont you know who his manager is?

If that is the case it would make sense to switch him with his manager's other client.

**N4D13** · 18th Mar 12, 16:21

Originally Posted by Koz

If that is the case it would make sense to switch him with his manager's other client.

I don't think giving Bianchi a drive without proper F1 testing in a Ferrari car would make any sense, specially if he's going to have Alonso as a teammate. I'd rather bring Alguersuari in, but there's no reason to think he could perform any better than Massa is doing, specially considering that he hasn't driven a Formula One car, let alone a Ferrari, for several months.