http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/racing/f1/news/story?id=4876380 Massa worked his way to where he got in 2008 and obviously was squeezing everything possible out of the F60 in 2009 until he was injured. He is mentally tough and will shake off the injury and be a force this year if the car is any good. I think he will have Fernando having fits (and I actually like Alonso) by midseason when he is outqualifying him regularly. Should be interesting as I feel Alonso has better race days but I think on a single flying lap in qualifying Massa is the cream of the crop
Those are some bold statements to be making!. I think Alonso and Massa will be neck and neck when it comes to qualifying. As for Massa being the cream of the crop in single lap qualifying, I may be a Ferrari fanatic but even I can see that Massa can't regularily deliver "magic" laps like Hamilton or Schumacher can.
Again I have to agree, sometimes he goes at it half heartedly, like he doesn't truly believe he can pull it off and then half way through the manoeuvre he decides to give up on it. The frustrating thing is, on another day, he'll jam it down the inside of a rival and make the move stick. The difference with Schumacher, Hamilton and Alonso is that they do the latter everytime.
From what I saw of him in the Toyota, he's scared of no one and it seems he will overtake down the grass next to track if there's no space on track!. It'll be interesting to see how he develops. I don't want to prematurely raise his ability too soon, but in the two races at the end of the season, he showed raw speed, the likes of which I can't remember seeing since Gilles Villeneuve!.
For that matter JB made some really great passes last season too, and probably more than any other driver.
We re nine posts on in this thread. How come this hasn't yet become a Massa-bashing thread? What is becoming of my beloved Fchat?
I stated int he original post that he does not have the racing skills of Alonso but I do not feel anyone is quicker on a flying qualifying Lap. Hamilton is on par but over the past few years Massa has consistently shown that when the car is decent he can put it on pole. Also when he puts it on pole he tends to keep it up front barring the team screwing things up. With nothing to do this year but change tires I'm hoping he will have a car he can put on pole and drive away with. Passing is certainly not his forte but I believe he is one of if not the best qualifier on the grid.
It's utterly ridiculous to mention Kobayashi in the same breath as the others. He has two races in a Formula One car and you're saying he is as fast over a lap as other (2 of them multiple) WDCs. Get real...
Lets put it this way, in the little time he has been racing in F1, he appears not to be intimidated by the WDC's and shows no sign of being submissive to them. Time will tell.
Felipe has been amazingly consistent the last 2 years both in race form and in qualifying hence the better race performances vs Kimi. He also left LH holding his shorts at turn 1 in Budapest starting from 3rd in a car that qualified slower than LH and would have won(not from pole) except for the nice engine failure 3 laps from the end. The move was called Hamiltonesque by the press. I think he made it stick...to say the least. Felipe deserves great credit for his fight against LH. Title or not Felipe is a worthy driver, wears red and will fight, Im sure quite well against FA. He has nothing to prove as a race driver to anyone. He kept his job on merit. Kimi was fired. Pretty much sums it up.
Unfortunately you're too late. I already met with a shaman who revealed to me that Vettel will be the next WDC.
Huh? How about all the crashes and incidents he had? Or do you mean he consistently crashes like de Cesaris? Nonsense. He has everything to prove: First that he is not handicapped after his accident and second there is still that open WDC title, which he will never achieve. After this year he will fall into the abyss of a midfield team. The reason they replaced Kimi was that they needed the spot of the #1 driver for Alonso. Massa is good enough as #2, no need to replace. Yet. Fixed. That said, I am rooting for Massa this year: We need every help we can get to keep MS from another title. And so far I'm very pleased to see him not having lost any of his speed and driving faster than the chin.
If Massa is back to old form, he will be around for a long time to come imo. He is the perfect #2 driver in every way. Just a fraction of a notch below tier 1, and submissive enough to have someone like MS or Alonso for a teammate.
I don't buy the whole Alonso will be the #1 driver yet. If FM drives this year like he did in 08 there is no reason he cannot contend fr the title (Car willing obviously as we saw after the accident that he was getting the maximum out of the POS that was the F60). I like Alonso a lot more than Kimi and enjoy that he has talent and passion / drive and will definitely be at least on par with Massa but I don't automatically assume he is going to run circles around him. My guess is Ferrari if the car is right will be the constructors champ by a decent margin and depending on which car is markedly better Mercedes or Mclaren will crown either Schumi or LH as the WDC. FM and FA will split up a lot of points
Confession time. When Kimi came to Ferrari I thought Massa would be humiliated. Instead he has shown determination, maturity, and most importantly speed. He does still seem to get in over his head and exceed his limits at times. But yes I am impressed with his overall driving. ( lets hope it doesn't rain this year ) I cant believe I'm saying this; Good luck Massa.
+1 PS: I still don't like the guy personally, but then again what he had to go through last year was brutal enough to not be as picky. And I'm glad he not only functions as a human again, but even as a F1 driver.
Some people claim champions are born "gifted" predestined to be champions like Senna, or Schumacher. And that may be true for some but there are plenty of examples where a champion was born out of how he handles adversity and challenges on and off the track or court or course are whatever the sporting event......what seems common in the latter champion is they know how to lose as graciously as they win because they had to lose a lot before they were able to win. They truly appreciate the win, not expect it so to speak. I sincerely hope this moment, challenge, in Felipe's life is one of those "defining moments" where he has come realize he has been given a second chance and with this second chance he has a fresh start to accomplish his goals and show that he is capable of more than fleeting moments but the whole package. He has the talent, and he has the heart, now maybe he will develop the phsyque to be a true champion, while staying humble.
