Felipe Massa

[ian95x]

I think that Massa is an "uneven" driver--he's spectacular in dry weather, but atrocious in the wet--FIVE spins at Silverstone?!

[Lemans3]

I feel that Felipe drives with "emotion", which I like but sometimes it is not very effective.
In my opinion he takes every opportunity to pass another one. Sometimes this works, sometimes however.....it´s a failure. Kimi is driving more "with his head". That´s why Kimi is less interesting to see driving nowadays. He is calculating more. I believe at the end of the season Kimi will have more points than Felipe because of this. I still think that Kimi can be worldchampion again. Let´s take Felipe´s overtaking manouvre in Hungary: Marvellous, and for sure not without risk. Lewis let him live, but it could have been a disaster as well. But for sure: good for the spectators and F1.
Felipe, very nice guy, qualifying animal but a bit too much of south american temperament to get world champion this year.

[MansellRed5]

As long as there is Hamilton ,Massa will be number 2

Ever considered a job at ITV-F1 dude?

I was watching itv race build up and then they were saying "Hamilton has already got the victory, the only thing remaining is to finish the race."

No surprise there. You have to laugh when things they say come back to bite them in the arse. The post-race coverage was probably all about defending Hamilton's pish performance instead of praising the impressives drives of others and highlighting the on-goings of the race. Massa stunned the hell out of me in Hungary. His brave move on Lewis into turn one was very out of character for him and he drove like a completely different person (Do you think Schumi secretly filled in for him? ). I had to laugh at James Allen and the ITV-F1 crew getting their figures and maths wrong because Lewis wasn't running as long as they predicted . What a bunch of Hamilton-worshipping smeg heads ITV are.

[TwistedArmco]

I had to laugh at James Allen and the ITV-F1 crew getting their figures and maths wrong because Lewis wasn't running as long as they predicted . What a bunch of Hamilton-worshipping smeg heads ITV are.

And quote of the month goes to.. MansellRed5

Amen.

[blizzard]

MansellRed5: I couldn´t have said it better

[TwistedArmco]

Ever considered a job at ITV-F1 dude?

No, he just wants access to the videos section.

[Ace]

To become great driver and eventually champion you need to be good in the rain as in dry. I'm afraid that Massa don't have that quality.

[Ali]

In 2008, Massa has been stronger than he was in 2007, especially in Monaco and Hungary. At the begining of 2008, he was thinking he should have won every GP to become WDC just as Hamilton did in 2007 Chinese and Brazilian GPs but both have learned to gain as much as points in every race. They really learned it. In France and Spain, Massa kept his cool to become 2nd after his disappointment in Malaysia which now cost him 1st place in WDC. In France, he even won the race.

Is he or should be the number one driver for Ferrari now? Last year, Kimi showed he had what it takes to become a WDC even he dropped +20 points behind after North America races but everyone believed that he could make it after such brilliant drives in 2007 Britain, France and European GP, where he had the pole and likely to win were it not a small mistake and then a failure. What I mean is Kimi has not been showing such a pace he showed last year. Massa seems to be hooked up more than Kimi in much aspects that affect the WDC campaign: one-lap performance, race pace, integrity. Massa is or should be much more likely to be "de facto" number one for Ferrari, just like Hamilton for McLaren. Kimi did it last year coming 20+ behind but this year he didn't give me that belief that he would do it again coming 14 points behind even if we'll have Spa and Chinese GPs, where he should be expected to have the upper hand.

I'm really disappointed what Kimi did and has been doing this year. Massa is my favourite and Spa will be very important for him. If he beats Kimi in Spa, then the debate will absolutely closed down for Massa's account. Spa will be decisive race for also Ferrari management who will have to decide to back or not to back one of its drivers.

[J-Pro]

I'm absolutely agree with the previuos quote. I beleive in Massa and I hope that he'll do his job as well as he did it in last 2 races. He's much better than ever. Can't wait for Spa!

[Sanredrose]

I don't think Ferrari can make any decision on backing either of these drivers so soon. Until its mathematically impossible, the team won't make a choice. Last year they favoured Kimi in the last race since Massa was out of contention for WDC. Some people do claim internal politics in Ferrari is holding back Kimi or hurting him. I don't see this as a possibility but its quite confusing as to why Ferrari approved using the same engine from the batch which had a engine failure. The engine went up into fumes in Hungary indicating what is the problem, but why were they unable to ensure the reliability of the component in the next race ? Now Massa was said to have run with a engine from the same batch, so can i count of him blowing up in Spa ? If that happens it would be a fiasco & big problem for Massa's WDC's title chances.

I cannot rule out Massa out of WDC, but i still have the feeling that he might not be able to hold the strings together when there is too much pressure from all the sides.

[da9dad]

I can't say that he just a support drivers for the champion
Because there is no more team order in Formula 1, it's all depends on the championship situation
Just like last year Felipe didn't have a chance to win the championship so he helped Kimi to win it, and he is done it

He has a potential to be a champion, maybe he could be a champion in the next couple of years
But I think he is slightly below Raikkonen, Alonso, Hamilton, and Kubica in terms of driving skill :cheezy:

He has to adapt with this season's car (without TC and the other electronic assist)
He made a several mistakes so far this season, like in Oz and Malaysia,
But I think he is getting better and better every race and he is one of the contender for this year championship

If there are no team orders...why did HK give his spot over to LH so easily (Germany I believe). However, Massa is very much capable of winning on his own, since Kimi is continously sleeping at the wheel and blowing up his engine.

[megasyxx]

i remember during his sauber days, a star sports commentator described him as an "anomaly" i wonder what he meant by that?

[J-Pro]

Anomaly? Strange, never heard that quote, although I saw star sports a lot of times...

[Zack]

Source:AFCA

Massa: ''Without doubt the test has been very productive.''

Q: So the car has improved as far as the well known tyre heating difficulties are concerned ?
Massa: ''Yes, driving in these conditions has helped a lot with regard, the car goes better with regard to the griplevels and this is important in sight of the races where it may well be raining again. It's clear that at Singapore I would prefer a dry race but we can also do well and have a consistent race in the wet.''

''I don't think that the car was little competitive in the last races. I think that the results have been down to a combination of coincedences and particular situations. I think we can also do well in the wet. We needed rain (during the test - AFCA) in order to improve the car in each kind of situation without ignoring any detail.''

Q: How did the test in the simulator go for you ?
Massa: ''Very well, I've also been driving 'at night', I've been practicing for a long time. It's a mix between Valencia and Monaco: slower than Valencia but it's a lot bigger and nicer than Monaco. It's a track where we will have a lot of new things because it will be the first time we drive there. And then we'll be racing at night time, something completely new, and there's a chance of rain as well. It won't be easy. I liked the track, let's hope I will also like it in reality.''

Q: Next Monday we will hear the verdict on McLaren's appeal on the Spa result, do you think about it ?
Massa: ''Certainly, I do all the time, but it's not dependent on us: it's important that the result is the right one, the one that we've all seen.''

Q: So coming to Singapore - only at one point from Hamilton - with four races to go to follow and realise a dream. Can you do it ?
Massa: ''I obviously hope so, we will have to do everything right, be fast, competitive, with good strategies and the necessary reliability.''

Q: And perhaps there being a Raikkonen that could help out a bit. Would you expect that or not ?
Massa: ''I count on the help of the team, the most important thing is the help of everyone within the team.''

Q: So Kimi included...
Massa: ''That's a bit what you make of it. When he won the title last year I won also, I've done it with my heart.''

Q: In the past ten years Ferrari has won five out of six races coming to a new circuit in F1. You're strong on new circuits. Does that reassure you ?
Massa: ''But I don't know the track, I would like to get used to it before thinking about this favourable tradition...''

Q: How much matured do you feel in this past year ?
Massa: ''I think I've made some steps forward as a driver and as person, last year I was a little less consistent and now I've taken a better direction: I have more experience and a more efficient relationship in terms of working with the team. So I feel more ready to tackle the final four races of the championship.''

---------------
Costa ''The weather may decide the championship this year. The results are no longer explained by the development on the cars. It's depends on the conditions which car is the faster one."

[shailf1]

thanks for that