Massa calls for urgent action from Ferrari

[Ferrari_Fanatic]

Felipe Massa has urged his team to do everything in its power to solve the problems he struggled with at the Australian Grand Prix last weekend.

After showing promise during winter testing, the issues that plagued Massa's 2010 season appeared to return at Melbourne as he struggled for tyre temperature - entering corners with undesteer and exiting them with oversteer. The lack of balance saw him qualify eighth and finish the race seventh once the two Saubers ahead of him on the circuit had been disqualified.

"The Australian Grand Prix did not go the way myself and the team had expected, as we were not as competitive as we had thought we would be, based on the winter performance," he told the Ferrari website. "If there is one lesson we take away with us after the opening round is that we have a lot of work to do. We urgently need to find out exactly what happened in Australia, understanding what we did and what the other teams did. We did not come away with as many points as we thought we could score in the first race, so we have to get back to where we want to be by the next race.

"I was asked many times over last weekend what surprised me most, the pace of the Red Bulls or of the McLarens. The answer is that I was more surprised by Red Bull, because what Vettel did in qualifying was very impressive. It's true that McLaren seemed to have made a step forward, but Red Bull was really far ahead of everyone else. As for ourselves, our car is better than it looked in Melbourne and it is hard to explain exactly why we failed to deliver, which is why we have to arrive in Malaysia with the car we actually built, not the car we raced last weekend."

The highlight of Massa's race was a close-quarters fight with Jenson Button, which saw the Ferrari hold off the advances of the McLaren lap after lap. Eventually Button passed illegally by cutting a corner, for which he was eventually penalised.

"We did not have to wait long to see the effect of the adjustable rear wing and KERS on the racing, with my fight in the early part with Jenson. You could see he could get much closer to me on the straight: even if he did not manage to get very close on the previous corner, by the end of the straight he was alongside me. Clearly the rear wing helped him, although in the end, he only got past me by cutting the corner.

"During the battle, I feel I did a very good job of defending my position by using KERS, knowing how to save the power until it was time to use it at exactly the right moment so he could not get past. But it's definitely easier to be the attacker than the defender in this situation. I'm sure it was exciting for the spectators and it was a shame that after the incident I did not have the pace to keep fighting him."

McLaren and Button were quick to point out that the FIA had not advised the team on whether he should hand the position back. But Massa said it should have been obvious that Button would not be allowed to continue unpunished.

"I expected him to give back the position after he got by, because the rules are clear you must do this if you cut a chicane and Jenson is experienced enough to know that, without having to wait for the team to tell him what to do," he said. "After he got by, Alonso also got past me, as I ended up being quite slow because of the fight with Jenson. And given that Fernando pitted before me, that left Jenson with another chance to give me back position but he did not."

© ESPN EMEA Ltd.

[Grillo]

Ferrari is sure doing as much as they can.

Massa is so right about Button no giving position back.

[Phantom]

Yet again the issue is tyre tempreature. I find this as an excuse from Ferrari. It's no point blaming the tyre when obviously Ferrari had problems even on Bridgestone. For the last 4 ~ 5 years, I've seen our car's tyres operate on a very thin margin of efficiency. A slight change in wheather even by a few degrees would effect the car's performance dramatically. Surely Ferrari know how to "create" more heat into the tyres after 5 years, but why are they not? Could it be that they want the cars to be gentle on race pace and in that line, compromising that advantage to other different areas? What's your take in this?

[Ferrari_Fanatic]

Yet again the issue is tyre tempreature. I find this as an excuse from Ferrari. It's no point blaming the tyre when obviously Ferrari had problems even on Bridgestone. For the last 4 ~ 5 years, I've seen our car's tyres operate on a very thin margin of efficiency. A slight change in wheather even by a few degrees would effect the car's performance dramatically. Surely Ferrari know how to "create" more heat into the tyres after 5 years, but why are they not? Could it be that they want the cars to be gentle on race pace and in that line, compromising that advantage to other different areas? What's your take in this?

I believe they just made the car too soft on the tires and just focused on making the car extra reliable we've been lacking aggressive approach since post todd and brawn era but i have no doubt that the Alonso Ferrari era WILL happen!! We have got the right people i mean Massa was runner up in 2008 and we won in 2007.

One question i have to ask if we managed to get the car flexing last year and the car was constantly getting Faster how come we don't have it this year??

[Hermann]

I believe they just made the car too soft on the tires and just focused on making the car extra reliable we've been lacking aggressive approach since post todd and brawn era but i have no doubt that the Alonso Ferrari era WILL happen!! We have got the right people i mean Massa was runner up in 2008 and we won in 2007.

One question i have to ask if we managed to get the car flexing last year and the car was constantly getting Faster how come we don't have it this year??

Ferrari fans all over the world have been asking this question in the last week but we got no response from the team so far. I personally believe they tried to come up with a different solution, only to find in Oz that it didn't work as intended. Maybe thats why they all have been so flabbergasted after the FP and qualy. And said that the results from the wind tunnel did not match the results on track. I think they just expected something different.

If they can't make it work like they intended to, we might see some flexing wing back on the car, but most probably not before the races come back to Europe. Though i have been asking myself if Domenicali will fly from Maranello with a flexing wing in his luggage

[Naeem]

I call for action from Massa let alone from Ferrari. Are we to believe that his vast underperformance in comparison to Alonso is purely due to a tyre warming issue? if so, why is he nowhere near as fast ever?!?! I've ditched my rose tinted specs and have lost faith in the lad though I wish him all the best as he drives for Ferrari.

[Anni]

I call for action from Massa let alone from Ferrari. Are we to believe that his vast underperformance in comparison to Alonso is purely due to a tyre warming issue? if so, why is he nowhere near as fast ever?!?! I've ditched my rose tinted specs and have lost faith in the lad though I wish him all the best as he drives for Ferrari.

The answer lies in the question. He is not so fast as ever because he has this tyre-heating problem. The fact Fernando is suffering from this problem too, for a certain degree proofes this is a problem we need to do something.
During the wintertest we looked better than in the first race, both drivers did. Then Pirelli changed the tires a bit after the tests and now our problem is there again.
I do not think we should blame anyone neither team nor driver for it but cross our fingers for the team to find a solution for this problem and show the world Ferrari is still a winning team!

[impactX]

The answer lies in the question. He is not so fast as ever because he has this tyre-heating problem. The fact Fernando is suffering from this problem too, for a certain degree proofes this is a problem we need to do something.
During the wintertest we looked better than in the first race, both drivers did. Then Pirelli changed the tires a bit after the tests and now our problem is there again.
I do not think we should blame anyone neither team nor driver for it but cross our fingers for the team to find a solution for this problem and show the world Ferrari is still a winning team!

Equal car, equal tyres, Massa has been destroyed by Alonso for over 1 season. If Alonso could get 4th with the same issue, I expect Massa to be close to him.

[Rishu]

The answer lies in the question. He is not so fast as ever because he has this tyre-heating problem. The fact Fernando is suffering from this problem too, for a certain degree proofes this is a problem we need to do something.
During the wintertest we looked better than in the first race, both drivers did. Then Pirelli changed the tires a bit after the tests and now our problem is there again.
I do not think we should blame anyone neither team nor driver for it but cross our fingers for the team to find a solution for this problem and show the world Ferrari is still a winning team!

Pirellis are same for everybody including Massa. Even Ferrari & Alosno can not blame Tyres for average performance in Australia. And it is unfair to Massa to get comapred to Alonso who most believe to be the best in the business at the moment. The thing is that every Ferrari fan is fed up of Tyre blame game. I understand that the car is the priority first but Massa needs step up his game. Its sad to see him getteing into that Barichello cry complaining mould

[Anni]

Pirellis are same for everybody including Massa. Even Ferrari & Alosno can not blame Tyres for average performance in Australia. And it is unfair to Massa to get comapred to Alonso who most believe to be the best in the business at the moment. The thing is that every Ferrari fan is fed up of Tyre blame game. I understand that the car is the priority first but Massa needs step up his game. Its sad to see him getteing into that Barichello cry complaining mould

But if you say the tires have nothing to do with Massa´s and the team´s performance in Australia, why did the car and also Massa look better during testing when we had softer Pirelli. They changed the tires a bit and now the problem is back. Of course the tires are the same for everybody, but our car seems to have problems with it and for me it seems as if Massa´s driving style makes him struggling even more with it than Alonso. Otherwise I don´t see why we had a different situation during the testing season.
Of course as a long-year F1 driver Felipe should be able to adjust his driving-style and bring better results (although I don´t think his performance in Australia was THAT bad.), but in my opinion there will be no champion in red until the team finds a way to deal with the tyre-heating problem.

[racingbradley]

I've ditched my rose tinted specs and have lost faith in the lad though I wish him all the best as he drives for Ferrari.

O yea of little faith 19 races left if Bahrain is re-scheduled.
I am keeping my fingers crossed and will not give up until it is mathematically impossible for both drivers.
Hopefully we will still be fighting on the last corner of the last race.
I am either the eternal optimist or mad I am not sure.

[sagi58]

I am going to make a disclaimer before I post my opinion: I do like Massa; he's a sweet guy!

Having said that, I have to say, I believe being a "sweet guy" has no place at Ferrari! Sorry!
Massa was "lucky" to get in front at the beginning of the race; but, let's face it, he held up
Button more than he out-raced him! Massa did a superb job of blocking Button and thankfully
Alonso was able to catch up; but, that's not enough! Not when Alonso was able to pass both
of them, in short order! In fact, there are those (NOT ME) who claim that Ferrari used team
orders already -- and, just to prove my own loyalty to Ferrari, I argued vehemently that it
was not the case; that both our drivers were having difficulty with their tires, as is proven by
the fact that both of them pitted very soon after that pass. Mind you, the response was that
we did that purposely so that Button would be served a drive-through!! I do NOT believe that
for one moment; but, there are cynical McLaren fans who do! At this point, I just rolled my
eyes and countered with the fact that Button was obviously not having as good of a race a his
teammate and his frustration overshadowed his usual finesse on the track!!

[Rishu]

But if you say the tires have nothing to do with Massa´s and the team´s performance in Australia, why did the car and also Massa look better during testing when we had softer Pirelli. They changed the tires a bit and now the problem is back. Of course the tires are the same for everybody, but our car seems to have problems with it and for me it seems as if Massa´s driving style makes him struggling even more with it than Alonso. Otherwise I don´t see why we had a different situation during the testing season.
Of course as a long-year F1 driver Felipe should be able to adjust his driving-style and bring better results (although I don´t think his performance in Australia was THAT bad.), but in my opinion there will be no champion in red until the team finds a way to deal with the tyre-heating problem.

So according to you Pirelli changed "something" & not RBR, not McLaren, not anybody, but only Ferrari were affected by that? Interesting. & didn't Massa himself say during AbuDhabi 2010 & winter tests that Pirelli would suit my driving style, & didn't Alonso say that he would need to adjust his driving style to counter Pirellis? I guess in that case, Alonso adjusted better than Massa who already thought he would come good. Excuses are excuses, bottom line is Tyres are no excuses. we need to come up with better car & stop complaining & looking for excuses.

[scuderiafan]

Yeah the tyres weren't changed. But i'm not trying to make excuses for Felipe, but when has he had a good race at Albert Park?

Last year, and see how his season went after that. So it may be a good omen that Felipe did bad there. BUT if he doesnt improve for Sepang, then i cant defend him, especially if the car is improved.

[LeonKennedy]

This year Massa will be on a massive pressure as he knows if he doesn't deliver he can be in trouble... Let's hope he does deliver!

[aroutis]

Fans call for URGENT action from Massa!

[Hornet]

So according to you Pirelli changed "something" & not RBR, not McLaren, not anybody, but only Ferrari were affected by that? Interesting. & didn't Massa himself say during AbuDhabi 2010 & winter tests that Pirelli would suit my driving style, & didn't Alonso say that he would need to adjust his driving style to counter Pirellis? I guess in that case, Alonso adjusted better than Massa who already thought he would come good. Excuses are excuses, bottom line is Tyres are no excuses. we need to come up with better car & stop complaining & looking for excuses.

I believe someone did posted the news about Pirelli changing their tire spec this year. It was the softer compound IIRC. I can't remember which discussion it was exactly, but I believe Pirelli did changed the tire spec.

So that tire that Massa found to be working well for him during the first test isn't use by the time we got to Australia.

Massa probably just need some time to adjust to these harder spec, and get more comfortable with it.

[Rishu]

I believe someone did posted the news about Pirelli changing their tire spec this year. It was the softer compound IIRC. I can't remember which discussion it was exactly, but I believe Pirelli did changed the tire spec.

So that tire that Massa found to be working well for him during the first test isn't use by the time we got to Australia.

Massa probably just need some time to adjust to these harder spec, and get more comfortable with it.

Ok, fair enough, but why is it only Massa, why not 19 other drivers?

[Forzi]

Gonna repost this here:

Jarno Trulli has criticised the Pirelli tyres again after the Australian Grand Prix, suggesting that the characteristics of the new rubber changed after the final tests.

Predictions of severe tyre wear and drivers needing to pit as many as four times did not come to pass in Melbourne, with Sauber’s Sergio Perez even making it through the race with just one tyre change on lap 23 of 58.

But Trulli’s Lotus team had issues with tyre warm-up, leaving the Italian frustrated.

“The most important thing to be said is that every result this weekend, whether positive or negative, has a common cause: the Pirelli tyres,” Trulli wrote in a column for Repubblica.

“They’ve left us all shocked. I don’t mean they were better or worse than we had expected, I mean that they were completely different: it’s as if they have been changed since the last tests in Barcelona.

“During the winter all of us, in every team, have worked with tyres that would deteriorate immediately. It was a characteristic of the tyres, and there’s been some polemics too. So we had thought the problem was to make them last long enough.

“Instead here in Melbourne we’ve found ourselves with tyres that had no durability problems, but in exchange for that they would struggle immensely to get up to temperature.”

Trulli reckons Lotus was far from the only team finding it difficult to make the Pirellis work in Australia.

“If the tyres don’t get up to temperature it’s impossible to get the performance,” he said. “During the race only two drivers had no problem getting the tyres up to temperature: (Lewis) Hamilton and (Sebastian) Vettel, second and first.

“Everyone else, some more than others, struggled. Even (Mark) Webber. In my opinion it’s the same reason why Ferrari did badly in qualifying.”

He added: “Problem is, the cause of this is unknown. You just need a tiny difference in the set-up, in the balance, in the track or air temperature, and even within the same team you get opposite reactions.

“Just think of Vettel and Webber: Sebastian dominated, while Mark at one point would lose two seconds a lap from Alonso. So, this is the real challenge: to understand how to use the tyres. I think it will be one of the key points of the season.”

Trulli finished 15th in Melbourne, where Lotus had occupied its 2010 position ahead of Virgin but behind the other midfield teams.



As you can see, it's not something that only Massa had problems with. And seeing since last year, that Fernando is better with tire heating, it doesnt surprise that there is a gap between our drivers. Also, Ferrari has admited that they had problems with the tires for bouth of the drivers and it may be because of the car being gentle on those. Guess we'll just have to wait till we balance the car out, so it would fit the tires more. A flexi wing would come in handy for that

[Hermann]

Ok, fair enough, but why is it only Massa, why not 19 other drivers?

We were discussing this here:

http://www.thescuderia.net/forums/sh...ed-since-Barca

After what Trulli said it wasn't only Massa. And Fernando had those problems too, only that he is one of the best drivers out there and able to somehow drive around many problems. It did affect his start though, he had some wheelspin.

[steve1971]

Lets quit blameing the tires for our performance last weekend at Austrailia. Our team just didnt have it together period. But we will be back. As for Massa? Ever since Fernando joined the team Massa has been bothered.

[Rishu]

We should start focussing on the car which happened to be more than a second down to front runners & stop critisizing tyres. Even if they changed their charecter, we were less than our "main" competitors who somehow managed this change better. We need to take care about F150', tyres will get fine automatically. Ferrari can manage their car & not tyres which are outsourced, so why crib for somthing beyond control?

[racingbradley]

I think Ferrari need to give their drivers a competitive car. We have not seen a really competitive car since 2008 which didn't always reach his potential due to mistakes in the pit and a couple of driver errors (which can happen to any driver)

[LeonKennedy]

I think Ferrari need to give their drivers a competitive car. We have not seen a really competitive car since 2008 which didn't always reach his potential due to mistakes in the pit and a couple of driver errors (which can happen to any driver)

The F10 was competitive, Alonso lost the WDC by what? 4 points? Assuming that he did many mistakes during the year, one assumes that the car was indeed competitive, at least, in Alonso's hands. Same as F150 will be competitive, at least Alonso will, I'm sure.

[racingbradley]

I guess we will know a bit more by the time the cars return to Europe----it's all speculation atm

[Grillo]

First race, Ferrari struggled. Massa's race wasn't good but maybe the car belongs 6th to 8th, Alonso was a bit lucky and Massa a bit unlucky maybe. It's too soon to start talking about drivers, the car should be NUMBER ONE priority.

[impactX]

Alonso must have been luckier than Massa last season then.

[Agron]

First race, Ferrari struggled. Massa's race wasn't good but maybe the car belongs 6th to 8th, Alonso was a bit lucky and Massa a bit unlucky maybe. It's too soon to start talking about drivers, the car should be NUMBER ONE priority.

Sorry but that's nonsensical, Massa made a good start/was lucky, and then lacked pace, maybe his fight with Button hurt him too because he lost pace against his true rivals (he didn't have Button's pace, and in the end even with the penalty ended in front of him). His gap to Alonso was the usual, the problem is that when when there are many cars with similar performance, a few extra tenths make you seventh, there's no problem with him IMO. I doubt anyone expected him to do better, he is always being compared with the best -or joint best with Hamilton- as if being 3 tenths behind him is a disaster. I agree that if the car starts working and becomes the fastest or joint fastest, he will consistently get podiums, and maybe a few victories.
Regarding Alonso, I don't find anything lucky about his race, he didn't make a good start or if you prefer, was unlucky, but nothing else.

I understand we have to be sensible about the Massa fans here, but let's not be paternalistic to the point we are untrue, it's not good for anyone.

[Grillo]

I understand we have to be sensible about the Massa fans here, but let's not be paternalistic to the point we are untrue, it's not good for anyone.

I'm not saying luck played the biggest part in Alonso's or Massa's race but apart from the start I think Alonso was a bit lucky to finish 4th. The car didn't belong to 4th place, in normal circumstances both Button and Webber would have finished ahead. That's why I say the car is just good for 6th to 8th. I don't think Massa did so bad he held Button for a few good laps and then during the fight he got past by Alonso and that might have changed his race a bit. But ok, that's something we will never know so we have 4th and 8th.

Now we can think about what would have happened if... If Button get past Massa early, If Alonso had been luck at the start, if... I think it's hard to know what it would be, we needed one more stop than the cars on the podium and that might be a problem.

But my point is not even that. My point is clear, this has been the first race of the season and it was a bad weekend for Ferrari. This is not time to blame the drivers, they need a competitive car. If they don't have a competitive car it won't work out, no champions, nothing.

[Anni]

I understand we have to be sensible about the Massa fans here, but let's not be paternalistic to the point we are untrue, it's not good for anyone.

We Massa fans tend to be realistic, you don´t have to be sensible about us. Just go ahead and say more things like that, you will soon see that nobody will take you serious anymore.
We all know Felipe needs to improve, but so does the car. We don´t live in a hero-worshiping dream where Massa did a flawless job last season, as you seem to think we do, but we have still faith in him as should every Tifosi have. If you hint Felipe fans are naive and not to be taken serious you disqualify yourself as a Tifosi. If you like it or not, Massa is part of the team of which we all here call us fans.
Nobody here has a problem if you criticize Massa as long as you don´t look down on him or his fans.