Makes for some interesting reading indeed. http://bit.ly/cq2ikP
So Alonso **** on Massa again? Ferrari told them both to turn down their engines to preserve them and Alonso then secretly turned up his engine so he could catch and pass Felipe, who was powerless to maintain the gap since Alonso was running his engine on full performance. This led to Felipe thinking Alonso was just much faster - when the truth was he had actually turned up his engine settings while letting Felipe think they were turned down. What a crap thing to do. But there is no way the engineers didn't know what setting Alonso was on - so this is not something he could do alone. Obviously, the team were in on it. So the team took a big dump on Felipe and made sure he wasn't going to win. It was never about "you have to keep ahead of Alonso", it was about "we're going to make sure Alonso catches and passes you". Ferrari ought to be careful how they treat Felipe. Piquet Jr developed some balls after he felt wronged by Renault, which led to the expulsion of Flavio. Since only a cretin could possibly think Felipe wasn't told he needed to move over if/when the team told him to, then presumably the drivers and team have lied to the FIA about all of this. Maybe Felipe has an ace up his sleeve now? Or perhaps the impotent (or Ferrari biased, depending on your viewpoint) FIA is nothing to worry about from Ferrari's perspective?
Well said mate. I just hope Massa finds something extra in the car, and outperforms Alonso right till the end of the season. Massa is just keeping quiet this season, but Alonso's always complaining.
Massa has always been a true gentleman of the sport. I have always admired him for that. But nice guys tend to finish last in F1. I hope that isn't true for Felipe.
I guess that is one way to look at what he did. I think it is sad that he had a big power advantage and he still could not pass Massa. The way he got the power advantage is very unseemly. It is one more thing that is tarnishing Alonso's image.
The article states that both drivers turned down their engines, but that Alonso then turned his engine back up. Since no pit-to-car adjustments are allowed, only Alonso could turn his engine up. Did he turned it up despite the objections of his engineer? Or were the engineers on the pit wall complicit in all of this? They had to have known... so maybe they either didn't want to broadcast it over the radio, or they were OK with it or even in on it. I don't think there is any question that it happened - the only thing we couldn't know is whether the team were in on it, or sitting on the pit wall in quiet anger over Alonso ignoring their requests of him. But one thing is clear - at a minimum Alonso screwed Massa again. At worst, the whole team screwed Massa. It is not just that Alonso is faster, it's that the team is making *sure* Alonso is faster. If I were Massa, the gloves would be off. He is not long for Ferrari anyway, so may as well take Alonso on directly head-on with no cares in the world what the team thinks.
It shouldn't surprise anyone that Alonso will do whatever it takes to win. Exhibit #1: 2007 Turkish Grand Prix. Alonso holds up Hamilton in the pit to prevent his final hot lap and is penalized. Exhibit #2: 2008 Singapore Grand Prix. Alonso takes advantage of a safety car caused by his teammate's intentional shunt and wins the race. I don't know if these are things to admire about Alonso. But there is not doubt that he is a no holds barred kind of guy. I think that is why he will fit in just fine at Ferrari. McLaren and Red Bull are no different. To steal a phrase from NASCAR: If you ain't cheatin', you ain't tryin'.
Hear, hear .... I like Felipe too. Maybe not WDC material, but such a nice guy - and fast with it too. Modest, not-ostentacious but quick, that's Massa. I hope he doesn't fall victim to Ferrari intestine war, but I am afraid he will.
