No one better on market to replace me – Massa

[Giallo 550]

Lets just wait for the confirmation. Everything seem to indicate that Luca DM have already make the decision in recent days. Its just a matter of announcing it.

We don't know where the Italian website was getting their source from. The only person who claim to have direct info from a source that I know of is Andrew Benson. If all of these reports are merely base on Benson's report, then its hardly concrete. If its multiple sources, that's a different story.

But lets just wait and see. I trust in Ferrari in making the best decision for the team.



That wouldn't be a bad choice, recently FI have been proving to be a mid field team, up from the backmarker they used to be.

Kobayashi may not be the fastest, but I really admire his dedication.

I admire Kobayashi's ability to break his pit crew's kneecaps.

[brembo man]

Nico, please sign here, you can never beat Alonso, you can never pass Alonso, you must let him pass. Would he sign ???

[Katu]

i would if i was paid enough

[Hermann]

Nico, please sign here, you can never beat Alonso, you can never pass Alonso, you must let him pass. Would he sign ???

Of course. There is nothing compared to drive for Ferrari after all.

[scuderia_nano]

Nico, please sign here, you can never beat Alonso, you can never pass Alonso, you must let him pass. Would he sign ???

Dint Ross Brawn once say that wecwait till 1st half gets over and then appoint a no.2

[F2002]

Dint Ross Brawn once say that wecwait till 1st half gets over and then appoint a no.2

I believe that "Nico" meant Nico Hulkenberg actually.

[brembo man]

Dint Ross Brawn once say that wecwait till 1st half gets over and then appoint a no.2

Brawn e senza vergona! Vivere nella menzona! Ferrari didn't have drivers sign their contracts after the first half "Gets Over" You sign before you new season starts, even if as in Rubens case, minutes before the deadline. Yes to team orders or get lost with another team.

[brembo man]

i would if i was paid enough

Well like I figured out a while ago with regards to those who thought Perez to Ferrari's #2 spot, Carlos Slim took care of the paid enough aspect of where to go. He want's his boy to have a well deserved shot at being #1 with a hopefull team. There never was IMO a thought of him signing for Massa's ride.

[brembo man]

Of course. There is nothing compared to drive for Ferrari after all.

I agree with you. That's how I believe Senna feels and would take the #2 spot if it was offered to him. Rubens, Massa, Senna, an honor for a Brasileiro to drive for Ferrari and do the best they can. Bruno got out of his Williams last race with black heat burns on his suit from a wirering fire that melted the front of his engine! Team orders at Ferrari would come as a blessing to the boy compared to driving that bomb William's has him in.

[wisepie]

Can't believe they'd take on Hulk just for a year and then go for Vettel, I don't see the point in replacing Felipe if the possibility of Vettel joining the Scuderia in 2014 is still on the cards. I really find it hard to believe that Hulk will be any better than Felipe and will be extremely sad if this happens.

[racingbradley]

Nah can't see Hulk at Maranello---like him a lot as long as he doesn't replace Felipe.
De Resta he may be of Italian decent but he hasn't got the Italian spirit-------he's sooooooooooooo boring. {Apologies to any Scots on the forum but he hasn’t got the Scots sense of humour either}
Bruno Senna better than Massa????????????
Out of the current batch of young drivers I would have accepted Perez if Felipe had to leave {they appear to have a similar personality} not an option now.

Luca D surely can't praise Felipe last Thursday at the Paris motor show then replace him this week. It doesn't make sense.

http://www.auto123.com/en/racing-new...a?artid=148105

[eddie]

Felipe is > than Nico. Alonso can back me on this

And being the #1 pilot for the red car, he has a say to whom he would like as a team mate

Sorry, Nico fans don't kill me

[Nova]

Not a fan of mine, so no worries..Massa IS better than him, and Diresta and quite a few others.

[FFFerrari]

It would seem pretty stupid both from Nico and from Ferrari to sign him only for 2013 season IF they are actually bringing Vettel in 2014 (something I don't really believe before I see it happen). It would of course boost Nicos career in short term, but he would more than likely play the second fiddle alongside Fernando and murder his chances for a long career. If they are looking for a long term solution, then signing him seems a bit more sane choice, not a great choice but something I could live with.

In short:
If Vettel is coming in 2014, keep Massa for one more year
If he isn't comng, get whoever you want to keep for several years along Fernando

Every other scenario seems silly.

[killer]

Fernando, as good as he is right now, is still peaking. He has at least 7 or 8 years with us left. A lot of talent can rise during that time; I don't think Vettel in 2014 will happen.

It doesn't make sense to replace Felipe with someone who can't do better than him. Why not sign Massa for next year and then with a performance clause in 2014 and, if Ferrari really are interested in him, take in Hulkenberg next year as a test driver in preparation for 2015 (or 2014, if Felipe does not meet the performance quota)?

[Katu]

just a quick question - how on earth does anyone know if someone isn't better than Massa if they never have driven the same car?
to take a young driver now as testdriver would be such a waste, they won't have chance to drive a car for a year

[Hornet]

just a quick question - how on earth does anyone know if someone isn't better than Massa if they never have driven the same car?
to take a young driver now as testdriver would be such a waste, they won't have chance to drive a car for a year

Objectively, yeah you are right. You can't compare two drivers until you put them in equal equipment.

But how many of us fans can see things objectively Not blaming anyone of course, its a normal part of being human. But most people's opinion will always be skewed. The team however cannot make their decision base on gut feeling. They have to be as objective as possible.

And let me just say that none of us are in any position to say Ferrari's decision is stupid, regardless of what it may be. We don't even have the credentials to run a small race team.

[killer]

just a quick question - how on earth does anyone know if someone isn't better than Massa if they never have driven the same car?
to take a young driver now as testdriver would be such a waste, they won't have chance to drive a car for a year

Ferrari knew Alonso was quicker than Raikonnen enough to sign him.

Back to your question: so we waste a year to see if someone is better than Massa--is this what you propose?

[Dino]

Objectively, yeah you are right. You can't compare two drivers until you put them in equal equipment

.

A fascinating side-note to the whole story is that, by saying Sergio Perez is not ready for Ferrari, the Maranello team allowed its leading driver ‘academy’ member to be poached by main rival McLaren.

Autosprint magazine claims that Ferrari did not actually rate the 22-year-old Mexican overly highly, after Jules Bianchi went almost half a second faster in their most recent head-to-head test last September.

Referring to Perez’s signing by McLaren, the magazine said: “Ferrari, as well as many others, were taken by surprise. But if Ferrari had been aware, would they have done something to stop it? Probably not.”

[Katu]

Objectively, yeah you are right. You can't compare two drivers until you put them in equal equipment.

But how many of us fans can see things objectively Not blaming anyone of course, its a normal part of being human. But most people's opinion will always be skewed. The team however cannot make their decision base on gut feeling. They have to be as objective as possible.

And let me just say that none of us are in any position to say Ferrari's decision is stupid, regardless of what it may be. We don't even have the credentials to run a small race team.

what i wanted to say and have said also earlier - team doesn't make decision based on last race or last races, there is reason why ferrari hasn't signed Massa yet and after last seasons who really can blame them?

[Katu]

Ferrari knew Alonso was quicker than Raikonnen enough to sign him.

Back to your question: so we waste a year to see if someone is better than Massa--is this what you propose?

we don't know the real reasons behind Kimi's sacking, so i wouldn't bring that up. however my purpose is - if you don't risk it, you won't get the biscuit. so if Ferrari wants to play it safe, then Massa is obvious choice, though i believe some changes from time to time are only healthy

[Katu]

A fascinating side-note to the whole story is that, by saying Sergio Perez is not ready for Ferrari, the Maranello team allowed its leading driver ‘academy’ member to be poached by main rival McLaren.

Autosprint magazine claims that Ferrari did not actually rate the 22-year-old Mexican overly highly, after Jules Bianchi went almost half a second faster in their most recent head-to-head test last September.

Referring to Perez’s signing by McLaren, the magazine said: “Ferrari, as well as many others, were taken by surprise. But if Ferrari had been aware, would they have done something to stop it? Probably not.”

go Jules!!!

[racingbradley]

I just remember Fizzi at the top of his game at Force India racing Kimi for 1st at Spa one week.
And then embarrassingly racing his Ferrari constantly at the back of the grid for the remainder of the season
I am not “knocking” Fizzi he has gone on to be a winner at Le Mans.

As someone has already inferred what do we know about the team's shopping requirements-------we know nothing.
So it's wait and see time. i hate not knowing but there we are.

[brembo man]

we don't know the real reasons behind Kimi's sacking, so i wouldn't bring that up. however my purpose is - if you don't risk it, you won't get the biscuit. so if Ferrari wants to play it safe, then Massa is obvious choice, though i believe some changes from time to time are only healthy

Ferrari had millions of Santander $$ reasons to relieve Kinni of his duties. Paying him to leave early should be proof enough. On the other hand Alonso was worth every effort Ferrari put into the move. We wound up with the best .

[wisepie]

Nah can't see Hulk at Maranello---like him a lot as long as he doesn't replace Felipe.
De Resta he may be of Italian decent but he hasn't got the Italian spirit-------he's sooooooooooooo boring. {Apologies to any Scots on the forum but he hasn’t got the Scots sense of humour either}
Bruno Senna better than Massa????????????
Out of the current batch of young drivers I would have accepted Perez if Felipe had to leave {they appear to have a similar personality} not an option now.

Luca D surely can't praise Felipe last Thursday at the Paris motor show then replace him this week. It doesn't make sense.

http://www.auto123.com/en/racing-new...a?artid=148105

Agree 100% and we need to know what's what asap, it's just not fair to keep us in the dark, if Felipe already knows his destiny maybe we'll get a clue this weekend.

[Hornet]

Massa have said in today's press conference that he's pretty confident things are going in the right direction. So I think Massa knows its pretty much guaranteed that he will have a drive next year. He maintained that nothing is signed, so maybe he just doesn't want to reveal anything yet, or maybe he have an alternative in place if Ferrari doesn't retain him. But from his comments, it sounds like he's 99% sure he will be in F1 next year.

[Dino]

Massa have said in today's press conference that he's pretty confident things are going in the right direction. So I think Massa knows its pretty much guaranteed that he will have a drive next year. He maintained that nothing is signed, so maybe he just doesn't want to reveal anything yet, or maybe he have an alternative in place if Ferrari doesn't retain him. But from his comments, it sounds like he's 99% sure he will be in F1 next year.

It almost feels like Felipe is sure he will drive for Ferrari in 2013.
Maybe Luca promised all he has to do is ''keep on getting the results and the seat is yours''.

[brembo man]

Nah can't see Hulk at Maranello---like him a lot as long as he doesn't replace Felipe.
De Resta he may be of Italian decent but he hasn't got the Italian spirit-------he's sooooooooooooo boring. {Apologies to any Scots on the forum but he hasn’t got the Scots sense of humour either}
Bruno Senna better than Massa????????????
Out of the current batch of young drivers I would have accepted Perez if Felipe had to leave {they appear to have a similar personality} not an option now.

Luca D surely can't praise Felipe last Thursday at the Paris motor show then replace him this week. It doesn't make sense.

http://www.auto123.com/en/racing-new...a?artid=148105

Nah, I don't believe for a second Perez has that "OK i'll let him pass personality similar to Massa. He was never a candidate. Nah, no one is saying Bruno Senna is better than Massa yet. He would fit the seat because " Let him pass" would be worth it to him to drive for Ferrari . He picked up I believe 25 points driving a casket on wheels. I truly wish him a safe rest of the season. Whereas his teamate got lucky one race and picked up 25 points in a hurry, or he would be way behind Senna in points. But the truth is, Massa IMO was never leaving Ferrari. He is the best willing to do it, wing man out there. Vettel is for sure a winning driver, more than willing to come over to Ferrari and let Alonso pass at a moments notice, even if he's winning. Look how gracefull he is with Webber, he would move over for his teamate anytime!

[fratelliferrari]

I watched the part of the press conference today with Felipe. He looked quite sure that he will race for Ferrari next year. Let's hope we will hear the news soon

[Red is Best]

Hulkenberg? Meh...
Looks like a knee-jerk reaction to McLaren signing Perez. I'd rather have Bianchi in the second car.