Massa: “Since August I was having fun again”

[Rob]

Cheste, 2 December –Felipe Massa is a veteran of the Finali Mondiali, having been part of the Ferrari family since the 2002 season and no way was he going to miss this year’s. The umpteenth transatlantic crossing brought Felipe to Europe, just a week after the end of the 2012 Championship and by tonight, the Brazilian will be back on a plane to his native Sao Paolo. “It’s always nice taking part in events like this one,” said Felipe when he met the press at the Cheste circuit. “To see so many Ferraris on track is very exciting, even if it’s definitely not the first time for me!”

Naturally, Felipe also spoke of the championship that ended last weekend with his second podium finish of the season, coming in front of his home crowd. “In the first half of the year, I was worried about renewing my contract,” he said. I did not think that Ferrari would really wait right to the end of the summer before deciding on the driver line-up for next year. It’s true that ever since I’ve been at Maranello, there have always been rumours about me: already in my first year there was a list of drivers who were supposed to take my place and it was the same this year, with a lot of names and plenty of speculation. At the start, I paid too much attention to these things, but then, in August, I told myself I should only think about racing and having fun and so I began to really drive, to have the right feeling with the car and to drive as quickly as I know how. Now I feel very strong and the results were there to see in the last nine races: so I am optimistic for the future, mine and Ferrari’s.”

http://www.ferrari.com/english/formula1/news/headlines/Pages/121202-massa-since-august-i-was-having-fun-again.aspx

[Sianellen]

From the event today:

http://sphotos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/665218_292686687509719_888711136_o.jpg

http://sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/487017_292634657514922_1868893292_n.jpg

http://sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/530541_292664924178562_388739437_n.jpg

http://sphotos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/526879_292664900845231_1813209445_n.jpg

[wisepie]

Really was a shame that he wasn't in the best place mentally at the start of the season, so it appears it wasn't just that the car was bad but Felipe's mind-set wasn't there either. This explains his poor first half and I'm surprised that he admits it, but all credit to him for his honesty and let's pray that he has a decent car and a good start to next season, for his sake and ours. Vai Felipe!

[fratelliferrari]

You are the best Felipe! Always so honest and always a fighter. Fantastic:ferrarifl

[XXX132]

If Felipe starts 2013 the way he finished 2012, he will conceivably be our No.1 driver
Whatever we did to the car the last few races seemed to favour FM more than FA.

[varun]

If Felipe starts 2013 the way he finished 2012, he will conceivably be our No.1 driver
Whatever we did to the car the last few races seemed to favour FM more than FA.

Whoa...that's a big thing to say in just a few races...
As i am not sure how well that would go down with Nando!!! :Hmm
not that i am against massa...he is a great and highly underrated driver...:(

Just want to see WDC and WCC with us in 2013..and
have a car which would really have the raw pace..minus problems like tyre heating,Wind tunnel problems...:pray:pray
Forza Ferrari!

:ferrarifl:ferrarifl:ferrarifl

[FFFerrari]

Felipe really is that way. If he has confidence in the car, he can bring the car much closer to the limit. The other way around, if he doesn't have that he is really mediocre. Fernando is the other way around, he can take just about any car to the limit even with little a confidence but Felipe can push it even further if everything is in the right place. If both men are given cars that fit their driving style perfectly, Felipe is likely a tiny bit faster but 4 out 5 cars, Fernando is the faster guy.

Also, you have to note that Fernando had massive pressure at the end of the season while Felipe could drive without worries after he had secured the seat for 2013.

[fratelliferrari]

Would be nice if Felipe and Fernando both can fight for the championship till the last race. Then i hope Felipe will become WDC!

[Massimo]

Would be nice if Felipe and Fernando both can fight for the championship till the last race. Then i hope Felipe will become WDC!

I really don't hope both of them are fighting for the championship 'till the last race, that means they have taken a lot of points from each other, and one of them could have been the champion a few races earlier.
Remember 2008? Great for us, but McLaren should have never allowed Lewis and Fernando to race each other, the title would've been theirs way before the last race.

[Massa#1]

Would be nice if Felipe and Fernando both can fight for the championship till the last race. Then i hope Felipe will become WDC!


That would be awesome.

[fratelliferrari]

Sorry Massimo but that was not the case in 2008. In 2008 Heikki was the teammate of Lewis and not Fernando. You mean 2007 with Kimi winning in the last race;-)

[wisepie]

What is it with the Dutch Ferrari brigade?! Massimo and Fratelli, so glad to see the Italian passion spreads far and wide, even if we do have to support a Spaniard and a Brazilian, but they're Latins so we make no excuses for our loyalty! I hope they can both challenge in 2013 and it would be fantastic to see Felipe have a good run at the championship he so cruelly missed out on in 2008.

[Stormy]

Massa got a psychological problem thats why he wasnt delivering nice performance after he cleared his head and got into a meditative state he was able to score points and put up a good performance so all i can say is to continue like that in 2013,obviosly he had some issues in his head lets hope he fixed that :)

[wisepie]

Massa got a psychological problem thats why he wasnt delivering nice performance after he cleared his head and got into a meditative state he was able to score points and put up a good performance so all i can say is to continue like that in 2013,obviosly he had some issues in his head lets hope he fixed that :)

You're probably right but somehow he managed to sort himself out and that takes one hell of a lot of effort when you're constantly being criticised so pray that he manages to keep his demons at bay from now on. Good boy!

[Stormy]

You're probably right but somehow he managed to sort himself out and that takes one hell of a lot of effort when you're constantly being criticised so pray that he manages to keep his demons at bay from now on. Good boy!
Yeah probably thats the problem,he still got the skills its just his head is messed up.
Oh i wish the incident in 2009 didnt happen,after this moment he wasnt the same.

[Silent Bob]

It's too bad he didn't have this chat with himself earlier in the season, we might be WCC champs right now.

[Massimo]

What is it with the Dutch Ferrari brigade?! Massimo and Fratelli, so glad to see the Italian passion spreads far and wide, even if we do have to support a Spaniard and a Brazilian, but they're Latins so we make no excuses for our loyalty! I hope they can both challenge in 2013 and it would be fantastic to see Felipe have a good run at the championship he so cruelly missed out on in 2008.

Ha,ha, I'm born and raised in Italia, the beautiful island of Sardegna to be precise, so don't worry about the Italian passione, i live in Holland because of work (offshore)

[fratelliferrari]

Sorry but what do you mean by ''brigade'' wisepie? Did I say something wrong? My English isn't very good but can you explain me what it is?

[fratelliferrari]

I think it's not so simple to say that he should have done that earlier. He was in a very difficult situation during this season and has done just what we would love to see him doing. Began to drive fantastic after the summer break because he looked to hisself. But i guess it was a very big step for him to that. Only respect for Felipe!

[Corey]

Looking back at the photos of the F60 the body actually looks pretty sick. 8-) I remember that I used to dislike the appearance of the 2009 cars after the major regulation revamp. Which is probably because I was too used to seeing F1 cars from 2008 and further on.

[Suzie]

Looking back at the photos of the F60 the body actually looks pretty sick.

Curvy like a Coke bottle.
Bit weird seeing him in an F60 again, though :-??

[wisepie]

Sorry but what do you mean by ''brigade'' wisepie? Did I say something wrong? My English isn't very good but can you explain me what it is?

Don't worry, it's just a way of saying that there seem to be a lot of Italian tifosi based in Holland, which I find interesting. Massimo says he's 'off-shore' so he must be making a lot of money in the Netherlands! Nothing wrong with your English, fratello!!:-)

[fratelliferrari]

Haha allright wisepie. But Iam a real ''Dutchman". I haven't got Italian roots but i hope this is not a problem to be a Tifosi i guess hihi?

[wisepie]

Haha allright wisepie. But Iam a real ''Dutchman". I haven't got Italian roots but i hope this is not a problem to be a Tifosi i guess hihi?

Don't be silly, of course it's not a problem being a Dutch Tifoso as I'm a real English Tifoso, a Flying Dutchman may not be quite as exciting as a Prancing Horse, but we're all fratelli when it comes to our passione Italiana. Ciao.

[wisepie]

Ha,ha, I'm born and raised in Italia, the beautiful island of Sardegna to be precise, so don't worry about the Italian passione, i live in Holland because of work (offshore)

Massimo, I knew you were from Sardegna and I am told it is very beautiful, one place in Italy I haven't been yet but don't think I could handle the Costa Smeralda as it's too expensive and I don't own a Ferrari! Have a friend who married someone from Alghero, she loves it there. Hope the off-shore life in Holland will allow you to earn enough for your own F2013, the championship winner! I know this is TSN but hope the personal aspect isn't classified as irrelevant! Salute.

[Massimo]

Massimo, I knew you were from Sardegna and I am told it is very beautiful, one place in Italy I haven't been yet but don't think I could handle the Costa Smeralda as it's too expensive and I don't own a Ferrari! Have a friend who married someone from Alghero, she loves it there. Hope the off-shore life in Holland will allow you to earn enough for your own F2013, the championship winner! I know this is TSN but hope the personal aspect isn't classified as irrelevant! Salute.

Sardegna is fantastic, I'm from Cagliari myself, not many people can handle the Costa Smeralda as it's Briatore, Aga Khan, Emir of Qatar and Berlusconi territory.
Off-shore in Holland makes my life very pleasant, not enough for a Ferrari though, ha,ha, thank you for the friendly words. viva la Rossa!

[fratelliferrari]

How do you enjoy life in the Netherlands, Massimo? In which city do you live?

[Massimo]

How do you enjoy life in the Netherlands, Massimo? In which city do you live?

Except for the weather, Holland is a great country, very organised ha,ha, nothing beats Italia of course :xmaswink:
I live in Amsterdam, comes closest to Italian chaos :xmasbiggrin:

[Tifoso]

Can someone please explain why Alonso always looks like a dork in a cap?

[fratelliferrari]

Sorry to go a bit off-topic but does anyone know when the Wrooom event will take place?

[Suzie]

http://www.campigliodolomiti.it/lang/EN/eventi/dettaglio/wrooom_,534.html

13th to 20th January.

[Suzie]

Can someone please explain why Alonso always looks like a dork in a cap?

Have you seen his hair at the FIA Gala? Not sure there's a cap big enough.

[fratelliferrari]

Thanks Suzie for the link!

[fratelliferrari]

Yes the hairstyle of Fernando gets "wilder" every time we see him now haha:lol

[wisepie]

I think we've all gone a bit off-topic as this is supposed to be a Felipe forum but it proves how much we enjoy communicating our mutual respect for him by accessing the forum in the first place! It's nice to have a bit of personal background to the regular Felipe fans (Suzie/Sianallen/Massimo/fratelli etc) without having to refer to profiles, hope this is permitted during the closed season! We're all looking for something to relieve the boredom! :xmaswink:

[wisepie]

I'm very annoyed by an article I've just read in Autocar magazine written by Alan Henry (F1 Correspondent) suggesting that Ferrari should sign a US driver such as Marco Andretti (Michael Andretti's son) in 2014 to increase support for F1 in the USA. This again at the expense of Felipe, no doubt, and it makes me very cross that some people are writing him off already and assuming that Felipe's contract won't be renewed again after 2013. If he has a decent season next year, and there's no reason to doubt that he will judging by his recent form, why would Ferrari let him go? Show them what you can do, Felipe!

[REDARMYSOJA]

I'm very annoyed by an article I've just read in Autocar magazine written by Alan Henry (F1 Correspondent) suggesting that Ferrari should sign a US driver such as Marco Andretti (Michael Andretti's son) in 2014 to increase support for F1 in the USA. This again at the expense of Felipe, no doubt, and it makes me very cross that some people are writing him off already and assuming that Felipe's contract won't be renewed again after 2013. If he has a decent season next year, and there's no reason to doubt that he will judging by his recent form, why would Ferrari let him go? Show them what you can do, Felipe!

Even if they don't resign Felipe there is no way they sign a bum like Marco Andretti.

[Suzie]

Oh for goodness' sake, it's off-season and this has started already? :lol

[fratelliferrari]

Iam very confident Felipe will show us next year why Ferrari resigned him for 2013 and that he deserves a seat for 2014 as well!

[wisepie]

Let's hope so, there's no guarantee that anyone else would be any better in my opinion. BTW fratelli, where did you get your Felipe car decal from? I want one!

[fratelliferrari]

Hi wisepie I got it from ebay. Its a decal in white of the helmet of Felipe with his signature. I don't know if I may post a link to ebay with the article here?

[wisepie]

Hi wisepie I got it from ebay. Its a decal in white of the helmet of Felipe with his signature. I don't know if I may post a link to ebay with the article here?

I'm not brilliant on the computer so don't know about a link to e-bay but I'll look out for a decal myself. Thanks for the info anyway and where are you in Holland? I need to learn some Dutch as well as Portuguese as I love the sound of the language, almost as good as Italian! Ciao.

[fratelliferrari]

Hi wisepie I live in a village near the city Breda. I don't know if you know Breda? It's in the south of the Netherlands (the best part of the Netherlands in my opinion :xmastongue: . I looked on ebay for you but didn't see the decal anymore.

[wisepie]

Ciao fratelli, thanks for looking on e-bay but don't worry, I'll just put my Massa hat on the back shelf of the Cinquecento instead of on my head! My sister went to Amsterdam by car last month and stayed in Breda on the way there and back. I've only ever been to Vlissingen, many years ago, but I was a bit drunk and don't remember it much! We seem to have taken over this thread so I hope we won't get into trouble!! Forza Ferrari, Felipe and Fernando, just to stay on topic! Arrivederci.

[fratelliferrari]

Haha i guess you are right wisepie! Back on topic I guess:xmasbiggrin:! Let's hope we have a lot to cheer for with Felipe and Fernando and Ferrari next year!

[wisepie]

Haha i guess you are right wisepie! Back on topic I guess:xmasbiggrin:! Let's hope we have a lot to cheer for with Felipe and Fernando and Ferrari next year!
Got to get a better start to the season than this year, for sure and really hope that Felipe gets the chance to show all the non-believers what he can do. Would love him to get the results he deserves more than anyone.

[Giallo 550]

If Felipe has a good start next season, he will be a force to be reckoned with and consistently fighting for podiums.