That's a good quote Suzie but I don't really think loyalty has anything to do with it. Ferrari has been loyal to Massa and I think everyone knows that and would not accuse them of not being so if they fired him today. F1 is a tough business and tough decisions like that are made everyday.
I think it is a matter of Ferrari knowing what is best at this point. They know Massa's bad season of last was not really of his making, what with the bad pit stops and Hamilton constantly running over him. They know their options are limited if they are thinking of replacing him. They also know one race is not something to make a judgement on and at this time and firing Massa just for the sake of getting rid of him is not in the team's best interest.
I do agree with something you said earlier though that it probably doesn't matter what Massa does this season, he's probably gone at season's end. I think the way we will know if Ferrari thinks Massa just isn't up to the job anymore will be if towards the end of the season they put someone else in the car, and I'm thinking that someone else would be Bianchi.
edit :
Something I forgot to add, Piero is right in that if Ferrari gives Massa a good car, he will do much better. And they do "owe" him a better car, just like many say they do Alonso.
Don't play dumb with me. I'm better at it than you are.
Fully agree with this.
Replacing Massa mid-season will only add to our problems. As long as the car is not up to scratch, we just have to accept the fact that that we won't be challenging for any of the titles. If the F2012 is developed so well that Alonso is fighting for the win every race, and Massa is barely making top 10, then may be there's a point.
But let's not forget, that without in-season testing, it will be very difficult for any driver to jump into a car half way through the season and be competitive straight away. So the best thing Ferrari can do, is whatever happens this season, at the very least stick with Massa until the end of the year, and then think about replacing him with someone else for the start of 2013.
Let's not kid ourselves, if the car remains as difficult to drive as it was this weekend, someone like a Perez or Bianchi will get murdered next to Alonso. So no point blaming Massa really. Stability is more important to us than anything else at this stage, well apart from improving the car obviously.
The future is RED
Oh please can we not open the Hockenheim 2010 can of worms!
Forza Jules
Dont feed the troll
"Luna faccia schiaffo testa"
The reality of the situation...
we are 4th, mabey 5th best team right now. Hows that for reality?
I think that since the rules changed in 2009, Massa has had a problem with the cars and finding a balance with this generation rules.. He did ok, almost becoming wdc under the old rules. But those cars were vastly different than now and the last few years.
I think he simply has had a problem w/the current generation cars. I was hoping to see him a bit better today, n there's still time..he may get the thing setup to more of his
driving style. But we sure couldve used 2 cars in the points. Thing is, a lot of drivers have managed ok pre 09 and since.
Time to wipe the slate clean and look forward to next week.
Forza Jules
I'm a fan of the name above the door mate. Not just one of it's current drivers. I'll defend that.
You shouldn't assume that everyone should be happy with your standards of critique of something you may not be as bothered about supporting, or to be patronised by someone about the relevance of their profession in knowing better than the team they support.
Last edited by Tifosi; 19th March 2012 at 00:10.
"Luna faccia schiaffo testa"
Mate what are you always getting on about? It is quite clear from an objective person that you have an underlying problem with Fernando for whatever reason. While it is annoying, it's getting to the immature side of things if I may be frank. Before you go off on your childish name calling, I've been a Ferrari fan since 98. I would rather the team win the WCC before either driver wins the WDC. I've pulled/rooted/supported Michael, Felipe & Kimi and now Fernando. As you my first priority is the team. However the team has two drivers and their job is to get the maximum from the car and finish as well as possible. I believe everyone knows which driver is going to do that more often than the other one regardless of how good the car is or isn't.
Any time anyone says the slightest thing negative about Felipe, you're very quick to break out the junior high school name calling. As the place you live, the reality of the situation is there hasn't been much positivity coming from Massa in the past few years aside from a miraculous comeback from a horrific accident. While some people certainly prefer one driver over the other nowadays, I think with all the goal is for Ferrari to be number one, even with the ones that came with Fernando. The past few years Felipe hasn't helped the cause. For multiple reasons, some of them quite justified others are most certainly not.
Felipe had an awful day yesterday. Should he be fired? Heck no. You cannot blame Felipe for the fact the F2012 was born poorly. Nor can he be expected to outdrive the car like Fernando did, because Fernando himself will not always be able to do such things. There is much pressure on the drivers and even more pressure on the team. Everyone(who's reading this) wants Ferrari to be number one. To do this both drivers will need to carry their own weight. Both drivers will make mistakes sure, they are human. But both drivers should be based on performances. And will be. When Fernando has a bad day or makes a mistake, it should be recognized & discussed. And the same goes for Felipe. But anyone who says something negative about Felipe shouldn't be called childish names because you disagree with their opinion. Felipe should be given time. How much time? That is up to Stefano & Luca.
If you would like to discuss the finer points of this situation, we definitely can as long as you leave the antics at the door. Sure some people here are only in it for the driver and they should be known as such, but you paint everyone with the same brush if they are critical of Felipe which is not fair.
Right. Cracking race yesterday. What do we all think of Ferrari, Fernando, and Felipe?
I love to have daniel ricciardo in a ferrari
I think you may have mistaken my dislike of your badgering of others' opinions as arrogance? And when did I assume that? On the contrary, I am always open to criticism.
This isn't about me though, this is about you attacking other members rather than disagreeing with their opinions in a fair manner. My point was for you not to assume that every opinion that goes against your way of thinking must be coming from a clueless fan who's only been following the team since Bahrain 2010.
And if you are to assume that "negative" opinions only come from uninformed members, then why not take the same stance on positive ones as well? They don't seem to be based around very many facts either.
Forza Ferrari.
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