Praise for Massa, pressure for Raikkonen Mon 04 Aug, 04:34 PM The Italian press was all praise for Felipe Massa in the wake of the Hungarian Grand Prix. Following McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton's earlier dominance of the event, Brazilian Massa looked set for an inspired win against the odds until his Ferrari engine cruelly failed within kilometres of snatching back the championship lead. "What more can Ferrari ask of its driver?" the newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport wondered. Another difficult weekend for reigning World Champion Kimi Raikkonen, however, leaves speculation raging about the future of Ferrari's other driver. "He seems a pale imitation of the driver of the past," Tuttosport, an Italian national sports newspaper, said. "This Raikkonen is not the driver that Ferrari needs. He needs to ask himself whether he really still has the desire." The Finn himself is refusing to commit to Formula One beyond 2009, but he insists the rumours about his future - especially those predicting retirement at the end of this season - are without basis. "I never said anything like that. Somebody made it up," Raikkonen said.
I've been saying this for a while now, Kimi looks like his head is up his butt. He's slower than Massa in qualifiying and can't explain why. He used to be able to make up for it in the race but not anymore. I don't know what his problem is but now I find myself cheering for Massa during the races.
About the only place I have heard any negative comments about Massa's drive on Sunday is right here on FChat. But then, some of the folks on FChat are former F1 drivers, F1 pit crew members, even professional photographers, so they probably know everything.
Kimi looks very unmotivated, almost as if his WDC has satisfied him and he doesn't need another one. I really hope he doesn't wait until the last minute to try and pull one out of the bag like he did last year. As magical as it was, the probability of it happening again when now Lewis is the #1 at McLaren and there are 2 drivers at Ferrari trying to win are pretty low. Massa did everything right yesterday as far as I can tell. That article is spot on. BTW, Ron, nice avatar.
Jeff and Luis, we really can't complain much about Kimi. He is second in points. I saw nothing wrong with Kimi's race day in Hungary. He admitted a mistake in qualifying, but on race day, once he got past that really wide Renault, he set race fast laps. If anythiing, why didn't the team bring him in earlier, to get him out from behind Alonso? Then bring Kimi out again at a point he would not be behind another Alonso type competitor? Was the field so spread out this was not possible?
There you go again... earth to Ron, YOU are one of those that 'probably know everything'... hmm, that would mean you are trashing yourself as well... in that case continue.. but don't pretend to be an angel on FChat... your arrogance at times is quite absurd...
Yea, it seems like KR just doesn't have the burning desire right now that a MS had for example. The guy is second but I can't imagine that'll last for long the way things are going. He'll probably just ride it out until he's hoofed out.
Right now Phil is faster. Kimi will have to do some magic to justify his salary by the end of the year. When will Alonso be available???
The article sounds about right, Massa did drive a spectacular race especially with his first turn pass and then managing the pace throughout which is why I'm still puzzled that people think Massa did a bad job simply because he had the misfortune of an engine failure.
Reality sucks. I am sorry that you can't deal with it. I stated my observation, and I stick by that observation. It is apparent that we have some former F1 drivers on this forum. That explains their unsubstantiated opinions. To acknowledge your post, I actually don't know everything, and me an angel? Now that really shows your ignorance, that is the last word I would use to describe myself. I can only depend on facts, I am at a loss beyond that. I guess that is why I do not know everything like those I mentioned in my original post. Speaking of arrogance, you don't think your post smells of it?? I have no idea who you are, not that you have any idea who you are, but my point is we have never interacted, and yet you make stupid comments and insults. Try not hiding behind our words, and just be honest. D.ifficult for your personality type but achieveable
I don't really think Kimi deserves the bad press. I think he knows where the problem lies (qualifying) and I assume he's quietly working on it. That said the expectations are ofcourse very high and a driver of his stature should have solved the problem by now. He's still second in the championship but needs to put himself in a position to be able to really fight for the WDC and not depend on the misfortune of his opponents. Right now only Massa seems to be able to do a straight fight because he qualifies better. Also Ferrari strategy hasn't helped both drivers so that's also worsening the picture. It's not all Kimi's fault. p.s. Ron I hope you'll be able to change your avatar after the next race with a victorious Massa! This hurts...
You've never been President, should you be allowed to vite this election?!? Have you ever acted professionally on film? I guess you can't render an opinion on whether a movie sucks or not?!? C'mon, Ron. This is a ridiculous statement and you know it.
I am not sure of the relevance of your statement, he was behind Massa until Massa's misfortune, but then so what. The important point is that both of them are in the chase for the WDC. Maybe now I will have to start defending Kimi as I have been defending Massa, because I do not see a big problem with Kimi. First, I am not in the Ferrari garage so I am not privy to direct information about whatever has kept Kimi back lately. I can't see automatically blaming the driver or the car, it would be guessing. I can only base my guess on rumors, and that is it has been the chassis, grip problems. The car was great in Hungary, so at least for that circuit, the grip issue was fixed. Kimi admitted he made a mistake in qualifying on a track where you can't easily pass. OK, that happens, explains 6th on the grid. Once he got out from behind Alonso, Kimi set race fast laps. Alonso was fast enough, and wide enough, that it was near impossible to pass him on track. That is all that held back Kimi. With dirty air, a narrow track, it would have been ridiculous for Kimi to attempt to pass a mid field car, especially one driven by Alonso. Points are more important in F1 than putting on a show for the fans. This isn't NASCAR with a 36 race season. You can mess up a few races in NASCAR and still have enough events remaining to win the championship. Can't do that in F1, every point is critical. Kimi scored more points in Hungary than Hamilton or Massa, his only competition for the WDC. Kimi finished on the podium. With a car that had developed a mechanical difficulty at the end of the race. He in second in the WDC by only four points I think. One race past mid season. So what is the criticism about Kimi all about? I still can not logically explain the criticism about Massa, let alone now Kimi. They are both still potential winners of the WDC! Ferrari leads the WCC. Nothing else to talk about??
My point is that for all the talk about Kimi having a lackluster season, he is still well-positioned to repeat as WDC. I too think that he looks unmotivated this year and I agree that Massa has been showing more speed than Kimi lately but I am hardly willing to count Kimi out of contention just yet. There is still plenty of time for him to get his act together and start driving like a WDC again.
Ted, your examples are silly. I can see why you are confused. Stick to threads about gay race drivers. What I stated in that post is true. Voting is a personal matter, as a citizen it is your right. Hopefully you have a concrete idea of a candidate's platform so you are not guessing. Voting is not the same as making personal statements in a public forum about the candidate you have never met. Ted, that would be a better analogy than the two you gave. You have a right to that opinion, but be prepared for criticism for your uneducated comments. One's opinion about a movie is also personal, you may not see it the same light as your friends, but at least you went to see it before you voiced your opinion. I do not wish to discuss that one movie, I was young, needed the money, the actress was really cute. I did take movie making courses in college, but they did not help with this kind of movie, no speaking parts, just doing facial expressions imitating a heavy metal guitarist. I hope the photos do not surface. But what does any of this have to do with making assumptions about what is going on in the car with say Raikkonen or Massa? Are you in their respective garage during the race, are you at the debriefing after the race? What I find ridiculous are these Monday morning quarterback comments that are quick to blame a driver, when none of us really know the facts at the time. Seems like few here consider there could be a problem with the chassis, or the motor, or the transmission, etc. When likely few here have ever stood in the garage of an f1 race in any capacity to understand all that goes on. Even less likely is that anyone here has any connection to any of the teams. Its like voicing your opinion about a candidate without first reading their platform or their biography, its like voicing an opinion about a movie without ever having seen the movie. We are all guilty of this at one time or another. Just that some here are guilty of it all of the time.....Ted. Notice that you will find me defending Massa, now defending Raikkonen, instead of calling for their heads when something goes wrong. Hell I would even defend Hamilton (his driving, not his mouth) if he wasn't on the wanker team. At the end of the day, we are all allowed to voice our opinions, that's a forum, just that some opinins are really ridiculous. Like your analogy here.
As I hear it, to the team, within the team, there is no question as to his motivation. He badly wants a second WDC and considers Massa his ONLY threat. Consider that in those races he did not show well the car had severe grip problems. Or he admittedly made a mistake. But then I know your cars always handle perfectly, right?? And you never make mistakes on the track, right?? ;} What I was trying to say is that I have no doubt the both Kimi and Felipe are trying very hard to win at every race with the equipment they are given. Just that Felipe shows his motivation on his sleeve, Kimi in public is just very......stoic.
No one told these guys... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xerwtf9gCps&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHf-Ru9JwRI&feature=related REAL racers don't settle for 4th place, they fight for every point.
