Mark Hughes on Felipe Massa

Good article, thanks Sam for posting it.

 

+1. IMO, he is a good support driver and can be a race winner in a healthy & competitive car.

 

Very good article and it explains a lot about Massa. Good driver, yes. Able to match Raikkonen, no.

 

I think this sums it up and why F are not too worried about their hot and cold #2 driver.

"Coming in his seventh season of F1, it again underlined how Massa is fast enough to be a number one at a top team – but actually not quite good enough. There are at least four drivers currently not in race-winning cars who, I would venture, could do more with that drive than Massa. But maybe Ferrari don’t feel they need that. Maybe their combination of the rock-solid Raikkonen with the super-fast but definitely lesser Massa, is just right to keep the team dynamic in harmony."

 

I think ALL drivers have off day's , but some have more off day's than other's, and it's that, that makes the difference.

 

Great article, and it sounds about right. Now we just have to wait for the obligatory "this is crap Massa has no talent at all" comments.

 

I agree with this article. I was especially interested on how he commented on Massa's ability on the Tilke like tracks. Massa can be blazing fast, but he's inconsistent and doesn't handle pressure as well as Kimi.

 

I somewhat agree with the article. One thing you need to take in consideration is before Ferrari, Massa was with a mediocre team(Sauber). Kimi was with Mclaren for five years and didn't win a championship. This will be his 8th season in F1. The one thing Massa has over Kimi, is his technical feedback. Kimi is a complete idiot when it comes to this. He is only fast when the car is perfect.

 

Excellent article, couldn't agree more!

 

Why do you say that? This article is simply stating what many of us have been saying all along. Massa's got speed but lack the consistency to be a No 1 much less a WDC.

As it will also be Massa's 7th season F1 I'm not really sure what your argument is. Also don't forget that while Massa was with the "mediocre" Sauber team he was thoroughly beaten by his teammates. While Kimi did race for McLaren for 5 seasons his car was fast but very unreliable and it was in the years of the all dominant MS Ferrari pairing. Given that I'd say he did fairly well certainly better than Massa during those same years. He also was not thoroughly beaten by his teammates.

Once again I'm not sure how you've come to this argument. I'd say it's the exact opposite. If Kimi is a complete idiot when it comes to technical feedback (and I'd love for you to provide one link to an article saying so) then why oh why has the team (Ferrari) had Kimi doing the majority of the development this year? I posted many weeks ago after going back and sifting through the PitPass testing numbers how Kimi's been logging many more miles than Massa since the first of the year. I think at that time Massa had only done about 2/3 the amount that Kimi had done. If Kimi was an idiot when it came to technical feedback then why is the Ferrari so good this year? It seems to me your argument is opinion rather than fact.

 

The article is indeed very good but it's hardly any news. Luca de Montezemolo fully understands Massa's abilities and wants to keep him. This is the type of driver line up Ferrari wants, make Kimi another MS.

The problem with Massa is that it's easy to admit MS is is better but it is extremely hard to accept that Kimi is also a better driver all around. I think Massa would benefit from taking off the presure he has put on himself by trying to be beat Kimi in every outing. When he finally realizes he can't match Kimi over a few races or a season long, Massa will drive much more consistently and thus become a better performer.

 

Here is a link to thread that was posted here regarding about Kimi's performance mid season last year. http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=156591&highlight=Kimi+Raikkonen

Let me take back calling him an idiot about his feedback.

 

article shares sentiments of many here...

super fast once in a while, with dodgy consistency to boot, means being WDC is highly unlikely...

driver needs to be super fast most of the time, not sometimes...

and yeah, there are a handful of drivers currently in lesser cars that could do more with the red car in Massa's stead...

 

I enjoyed reading that thread. Ron says " If there is a number one driver at Ferrari, it is Felipe Massa, Michael Schumacher's protege. Love Kimi, but Felipe is a short MS."
Funniest thing I read all day

 

Incorrect there are some that say he has speed but will never be WDC which I can accept, however there are others that say he doesn't have enough talent to drive a moped unless it has a Ferrari badge on the side of it.

 

Most question why Ferrari or F1 have a driver that will never reach WDC level? ... I guess this is the way Ferrari play team orders, when they are not supposed to, ie: hire somebody they know has not quite got it so most times they don't have to hold him back.

To me it is sad, when there are fantastic young drivers in other classes wanting that seat ...

Personally if after 8 years in F1 you have not made WDC, you should be automatically retired so new blood can come in and keep F1 interesting.
Pete
ps: Oh BTW, don't ever visit Australia or NZ, because we like to have a little fun when we discuss things, and thus exaggeration is not uncommon, ie. the moped thing is just a little harmless dig by somebody (may not even be by an Aussie or Kiwi ... but I am trying to make a point ). Man if we had to discuss everything like lawyers, just watch FerrariChat's member count drop!

 

Tell that to Rubens and DC, they have almost 30 years combined in the sport and will have 500 races between them by the end of the season.

 

Amen ... they are adding nothing to F1 and holding up 2 seats.

Pete

 

If Barrichello had entered F1 2 years earlier, he would have raced with Nelson Piquet and his son. That alone should tell him its time to hang up the racing suit and find another job.

 

I think even Massa deep down knows he's the #2 driver and that's what Ferrari wants him to be, BUT he has to try and win because if Kimi has an off day he needs to pick up the slack. Good article thanks for posting

 

Haha, the moped thing isn't even a direct quote just an example of some member's distaste for Massa.

 

Kyle, lmao...........

 

Der, I knew that ... my point was that people like using flowery language. Nobody really thinks he is a completely useless driver, just not F1 level.

Gee whiz ... u Americans , trying to spell something out and then I have to spell that out as well. I give up
Pete