Felipe Massa- What is general opinion

**Rishu** · 22nd May 2011, 05:07

We have been seeing lot of bashing for this driver in recent past. He has been part of Ferrari for 6 years now, do we kick him out when he needs support? He has shown he can win Championship or atleast he nealy did in 2008. He has been a team player on numerous occassions. So what is wrong with Felipe in recent past?

**NJB13** · 22nd May 2011, 05:23

For all sorts of reasons Felipe is good for Ferrari and we are good for him. And if you don't think sentiment and team balance have any place in this consideration, then consider this, who is going to be significantly better than him? So little or no upside we swap him for someone who might not fit in and who might cause all sorts of disruptions to the team - no thanks.

**Jose Lorca** · 22nd May 2011, 05:32

Hes a good driver, no doubt about that. Hes faced teammates like Raikkonen and beat them! He knows how to take pole, win races, overtake successfully, and he uses his brain on the track.

His talent is unquestionable, however he is looking useless at times, and that is not what I would expect from a Ferrari driver. He almost got outqualified by Maldonado yesyerday!

It doesnt help his case that his teammate is the best driver on the grid, but despite that he is underperforming and making the gap to Alonso far greater than it should be. He blamed the tyres last year but from what ive seen this year, he just cant cope with the Ferrari as it is - understeering, difficult to handle. Meanwhile, his teammate adapts and gets the most out of the car, which then makes Felipe look rubbish.

I think give Massa a better car and watch him drive with ease and confidence. Still not good enough to beat Nando, but the gap would be reduced.

I also believe his is lacking confidence, but this is not the main cause of his issues.

**Jose Lorca** · 22nd May 2011, 05:32

Hes a good driver, no doubt about that. Hes faced teammates like Raikkonen and beat them! He knows how to take pole, win races, overtake successfully, and he uses his brain on the track.

His talent is unquestionable, however he is looking useless at times, and that is not what I would expect from a Ferrari driver. He almost got outqualified by Maldonado yesyerday!

It doesnt help his case that his teammate is the best driver on the grid, but despite that he is underperforming and making the gap to Alonso far greater than it should be. He blamed the tyres last year but from what ive seen this year, he just cant cope with the Ferrari as it is - understeering, difficult to handle. Meanwhile, his teammate adapts and gets the most out of the car, which then makes Felipe look rubbish.

I think give Massa a better car and watch him drive with ease and confidence. Still not good enough to beat Nando, but the gap would be reduced.

I also believe his is lacking confidence, but this is not the main cause of his issues.

**impactX** · 22nd May 2011, 06:05

He is better than Rubens when he was at Ferrari. The excuses, however, are similar.

**alogoc** · 22nd May 2011, 07:17

its nothing wrong whit him!!!
fernando is a stronger driver than anyone he ever drove against thats all

**aroutis** · 22nd May 2011, 07:44

Altho I do reserve judgement for the end of this year I do have a feeling that we need someone that can push Alonso further, and someone that can be more stable so he delivers points.

Hamilton: 1:21.961
Button: +0.035

Webber: 1:20.981
Vettel: +0.200 without KERS

Alonso: 1:21.964
Massa: +0.924

But as I said I will reserve judgement for the end of season.

**hogo** · 22nd May 2011, 07:48

I think he is good, making just few mistakes (less than ever before) and speed is ok, tho car is simply awful so no wonder his results aren't impressive.

**aroutis** · 22nd May 2011, 07:56

Originally Posted by hogo

I think he is good, making just few mistakes (less than ever before) and speed is ok, tho car is simply awful so no wonder his results aren't impressive.

So if the car is awful how come the other driver we have is doing better (much better actually?)

**hogo** · 22nd May 2011, 08:04

Originally Posted by aroutis

So if the car is awful how come the other driver we have is doing better (much better actually?)

This is why I voted for option 5. FA is simply the best driver in F1, so it's pretty unfair to compare Massa or any other driver to Spaniard.

**Luke** · 22nd May 2011, 08:36

His qualifying is a real concern, but his race pace looks to be pretty good and if it wasn't for the awful pit-stops last time out he would have got a good result. I think it's too early to completely write him off, we need to support him especially in the middle of the season when we still have so many races to go.

**F2008** · 22nd May 2011, 08:42

I think he's superb, I'm not desperate for outstanding results with an average car.
Why always question our drivers like Fernando after the Chinese GP and now Felipe after 1 average qualifying lap. We have the best drivers in our team and I hope they both stay for many many years.

**Grinsomx** · 22nd May 2011, 08:44

my opinion : .... not this again!

**Hermann** · 22nd May 2011, 08:45

Any other. Give both drivers a car that is fast enough to beat the competition (and i mean 0,5 seconds in front, not behind) and easier to drive, the gap wouldn't be that big. Massa should be able then to beat Fernando here and there.

In a difficult car, Fernando is the kind of driver who can make a difference. You just have to hear him say the car is 'undrivable' over the team radio, and then drive an almost perfect lap out of the blue a couple of hours later. Which is exactly the reason why Ferrari wanted to make sure he won't go elsewhere!

Maybe Massa just isn't that kind of driver. I think they are rare. Maybe Kubica is one of them, but i'm not really convinced so far. Too bad he is missing this season, it would have been a good opportunity to find out.

Vettel is one (i think), Hamilton is one (if we skip that he tends to get into trouble with his tyres), Schumacher used to be that kind of driver of course but it seems that has gone down the drain now, maybe Rosberg is. He is another one i'm not so sure about.

Because those drivers are rare, teams won't have a big chance to get hold on two at the same time. And if they do, they might run into trouble. Two drivers of the same kind are not easy to manage, as history shows. Most teams will shy away from that for obvious reasons.

Well, thats my personal theory anyway. Massa might not be that kind of driver, but he is a good driver. I personally would prefer him to stay in the team, but that is not for me (or for anyone here) to decide.

**schuy** · 22nd May 2011, 10:47

I've lost confidence in him, a good driver can make a bad car fast, In Barcelona they tested so much much, Massa knows the track, his done thousands of laps around, yet he still can’t get the car to work, I support him but geeze I'm loosing patience with him, same excuses. Why is it Alonso is driving around any balance issues. Takes me back to 96, Michael was able to win3 races in a bad car and Irvine struggled, it’s just frustrating to watch him always struggle, same deal can’t get enough tire temp in yet Alonso is fine.

**Suzie** · 22nd May 2011, 11:29

Seems pretty simple - Alonso is just the best driver in F1, period, and that maybe shows Felipe up at times.

This 'bashing' is a far cry from after China when everyone was saying he was back to his best. Either everyone has very short memories or they're just incredibly fickle. Build someone up one day and knock them down the next.

People have always been very quick to slag Felipe off, whether it be that he 'can't drive in the rain', 'can't overtake', 'only got the Ferrari drive because Nic Todt is his manager, 'can't cope without Smedley', 'is psychologically weak'... have I forgotten anything? Oh yes - not the same since his accident and becoming a father.

**FFFerrari** · 22nd May 2011, 11:29

Multiple choices would apply, but I think the main reason is the Hungary accident. He doesn't seem to have the same confidence than he did before that. It's very normal that drivers behave like this after bad accidents, but for most it takes one season to get back in the saddle. There are other reasons too, he has had problems with the slick tyres both this and last season ("not suiting his driving style") and that he is once again put into the no 2. driver role. He had his chance to get the title in 2008 and I think he won't get another chance.

Is he a good fit for the team? Yes. Will he get a WDC one day? No.

**Forzi** · 22nd May 2011, 11:35

Originally Posted by Suzie

Seems pretty simple - Alonso is just the best driver in F1, period, and that maybe shows Felipe up at times.

This 'bashing' is a far cry from after China when everyone was saying he was back to his best. Either everyone has very short memories or they're just incredibly fickle. Build someone up one day and knock them down the next.

People have always been very quick to slag Felipe off, whether it be that he 'can't drive in the rain', 'can't overtake', 'only got the Ferrari drive because Nic Todt is his manager, 'can't cope without Smedley', 'is psychologically weak'... have I forgotten anything? Oh yes - not the same since his accident and becoming a father.

110% agree with every word

**Mrs.Domenicali** · 22nd May 2011, 11:39

Alonso is considered currently the best all round driver in the sport, so yes I expect him to be better than Felipe.

I really don't see the point of worrying about the drivers when the biggest issue for us is lack of performance and the car, get the car right first then worry about the drivers performances.

**Greig** · 22nd May 2011, 11:44

Originally Posted by Suzie

Seems pretty simple - Alonso is just the best driver in F1, period, and that maybe shows Felipe up at times.

This 'bashing' is a far cry from after China when everyone was saying he was back to his best. Either everyone has very short memories or they're just incredibly fickle. Build someone up one day and knock them down the next.

People have always been very quick to slag Felipe off, whether it be that he 'can't drive in the rain', 'can't overtake', 'only got the Ferrari drive because Nic Todt is his manager, 'can't cope without Smedley', 'is psychologically weak'... have I forgotten anything? Oh yes - not the same since his accident and becoming a father.

+1

You did forget the real reason to blame, at random moments he can see a flying spring

**Suzie** · 22nd May 2011, 12:00

Yes, he saw lots of flying springs yesterday.
Luckily, he didn't see any when defending so well against Button in Oz, or when he was right up there with the Red Bulls in China.

Flying spring-itis only strikes at certain weekends, it's a difficult medical issue to manage.

**NanoTheQuickest** · 22nd May 2011, 12:03

The car is not great at all it's a fact, Nano is lightning quick, and Felipe has lost is edge since Hungary 2009 and he cannot be blame for it; The guy nearly lost his life.
If the same thing happened to any driver on today's F1 grid or any grid they simply would not be as sharp therefore as quick as they were. There is always this little thing on the back of his mind which will make him brake a few thousands of a second earlier and accelerate a few thousands later even if his heart tells him to do the opposite. And I would put a bet on right now regarding an identical matter that Kubica is never and I say never going to be as quick as he was.

**Greig** · 22nd May 2011, 12:05

Mika would say otherwise

Felipe's accident was a freak, maybe if he caused the accident or the car did then he might have some doubts but it was such a freak event that he probably does not even think about it.

**de Portago** · 22nd May 2011, 12:14

I don't know and I don't pretend to know. IMO he is underperfoming right now, but that may mean nothing...

The fact of the matter is that Massa should do the talking on the track. The good news is that his seat at the wheel of a Ferrari is not in question (at least for the foreseeable future) so I'll wait and see how he does for the rest of the season. If he gets to grips with his driving, great, I'll be the first one to feel good for him and congratulate him. But if he does not bring the bacon by the end of this season, heck, two seasons underperfoming are too much: it should be the sack then.

**Kingdom Hearts** · 22nd May 2011, 12:16

In my opinion 2008 was something that happen once in a lifetime, Felipe was inspired and the car was very good, but that year don't reflect his overall quality as a driver, he is a good driver and like other good drivers, when they have a great car, they can achieve good things. He lacks most of the attributes that make people like Alonso and Hamilton special. Felipe is perfect for Ferrari but he need a better car to perfom better.

**NanoTheQuickest** · 22nd May 2011, 12:17

I understand your point view Greig but freaky accident or not when you come close to death doing a sport you love it leaves marks and you never be as good as you were, this is called psychological damage or trauma and I know what I'm talking about regarding this matter.

**Greig** · 22nd May 2011, 12:17

Originally Posted by de Portago

I don't know and I don't pretend to know. IMO he is underperfoming right now, but that may mean nothing...

The fact of the matter is that Massa should do the talking on the track. The good news is that his seat at the wheel of a Ferrari is not in question (at least for the foreseeable future) so I'll wait and see how he does for the rest of the season. If he gets to grips with his driving, great, I'll be the first one to feel good for him and congratulate him. But if he does not bring the bacon by the end of this season, heck, two seasons underperfoming are too much: it should be the sack then.

How do you know he is under performing? Seems like a put down on Alonso really, can't quite understand why people expect the best driver to be constantly challenged....