Would Massa have been any worse (or better) than Kimi?

Kimi's performance in Aus was thoroughly underwhelming imo, at least compared to Alonso. This really seems to underscore how good Alonso has been the last few years given that Kimi's performance in Aus is pretty much exactly what we'd expect from Massa in the other Ferrari in years past. Have we really been underestimating Alonso (and Massa for that matter) seeing how much slower Kimi was in the same machinery all weekend? Watching Kimi go backwards in the field at the end of the race while Alonso tried to chase down Button in 4th (or 3rd as it turns out) was almost exactly like watching Massa the last few years.

 

Watching Kimi this weekend was an enormous disappointment BUT his car had issues from Friday onward. It's way too early to start this discussion. Kimi is a proven winner and it a higher caliber driver than massa (who is very good and probably under appreciated in his own right).

 

Driver to driver no, but the williams car definitely has the pace on the fezzas at this moment by the looks of it.

 

Worse

 

+1 Worse.

The real concern here is the car, which I fear demonstrated the same old problems with front tire wear. I can only hope that this was a conservative approach adopted by the team to bring both cars home. 5th and 8th (4th and 7th with Ricciardo's unfortunate DQ) isn't even close to getting the job done.

 

You cannot tell from one race.

 

it's all about the car, put massa in kimi's car it could be probably better or worst nobody knows

depends now how ferrari can improve the situation, they not lacking in talent but lacking a good car

 

It's probably the car. If Massa wasn't taken out, he'd probably be on the podium.

 

Massa had run his course at Ferrari, it was definately time for a change.

 

Both Ferrari's suffered from electrical issue's (especially Kimi's, according to Domenicalli). On top of that Kimi had an issue with graining front tires.

In the end he finished only 15 seconds behind Alonso. The gap was 5 seconds for most the race until the last round of pitstops when Alonso got a clear road and Kimi had drivers ahead and behind him.

Pitstops with Safety car cost him 1 or 2 places as well as he had to wait behind Alonso.


Was it disappointing? Yes, but all things considered not bad considering his car had issues since Friday, started 12th and had front graining issues.

 

Does it really matter? Im a fan of Massa. I like Kimi overall. He is overpaid and was handed a title when the others couldn't get it right. Good for him though and Ferrari. That being said, FA beat Massa and will have zero issues with Kimi.

They made a change of driver. ON a good day now the car is where it was last year if not worse actually. Also they say they are .5 behind Merc. Its a larger gap as the Mercedes was supposedly not pushing that hard in the race after a certain point.

FA stated the electrical issue would not have changed the order of his finish. The car is not that great. Its looks better in FA's hands. No shock there. Kimi is tempermental about set up/steering etc. He is already at a large disadvantage and it will stay that way in my opinion.

If he does better good for him and the team.

 

Come on, fiddling with the buttons on your steeringwheel, not paying attention and put the car in the wall? How is that not problematic. How can you shrug that off? I am so done with that 'I don't care about anything'-attitude of Kimi. Care about the mechanics who you just brought another load of work they don't need simply because you weren't doing yours.

 

True.
At this point the Williams seems to be the faster car but I expect that to change.

 

I agree with this as an element of professionalism should be evident in the first race to bring the car home in one piece given the conditions. I like Kimi's attitude up to a certain point then he is simply childish and selfish. Only wishing the world was exactly as he wants it to be vs the effort he must make given the reality of current F1 and its associated corporate stamp. I don't care only goes so far and then you just become annoying.

 

The engineers suck. They have the funds, the tools (new wind tunnel) and the drivers.

 

Finally someone who watched the race with both eyes....

 

Yes, but this exact scenario played out many times over the last few years with Massa. He'd be only a little bit slower (and sometimes in front of Alonso early) and would get caught up in traffic or have some small problem where Alonso wouldn't in the same circumstance and car. Then Alonso would end up on the podium or close to it while Massa would be 6th-10th. They swap drivers and the exact same thing happens. Shines a light on both what Alonso has been able to wrest from an inferior car and the relative capabilities of Massa and Kimi imo.

The difference seems to be that Alonso drives the car how it wants to be driven, while Massa and Kimi need the car to drive the way they want to be competitive. The former is a much rarer talent and is why he always seems to be ahead. I'd expect more of the same this season, lets just hope Kimi doesn't tune out and keeps trying because if he gets the car the way he wants it, I think he can be faster. Problem with that is that unless it's close to or is the fastest car, he can't challenge for a title.

 

Kimi is hard to read, behind the scenes I reckon he cares deep down.

Massa you can see when he has problems, overall I'll give Kimi the edge over the season to do better than Massa, however right now it's to early to tell.

I just hope Kimi get's a fair chance to shine with equal opportunity to do so as Fred.

Good luck to Massa.

 

well said
saves me some typing

 

That is a fair assessment. Of course Kimi is much more involved than he leads us, the public, to believe (I think the 'not caring'-pose is mostly that, a pose), but he seems to be out of his depth when the car isn't to his liking. It just isn't ok for a championdriver to put a car into the wall just because you were fiddling with the steeringwheel on your in lap. It just isn't ok to mess up the braking because of grained tires (not all that uncommon in F1) and loose a position in the process. That's rookie stuff. And it is all the more painfull that the rookies didn't seem to make these kinds of mistakes.

I know it is only the first race, but Kimi really needs to get his act together. Kimi just being Kimi shouldn't be enough for the Scuderia.

 

Did everyone notice that Kimi's car had the ABSOLUTE WORST brake proportioning balance of anything on the track?

I say let us see him in another few starts...it is not like he has failed to prove himself in previous seasons already.

 

Exactly. After five races if alonso is clearly always ahead i will reevalute my opinion of kimi as a driver. Until then its way to early to make judgements.

 

Well, it is how you set the bar. At Ferrari, the bar is at it's highest. You need to be up there with the Hamiltons, Vettels and Alonso's of this world. And let's be honest, Kimi is not exactly a rookie. I am not really sure why would have to postpone judgment on him.

He came up short in Australia. Perhaps down to the car, or other circumstances beyond his influence, but the fact is, right now, it is not clear whether or not hiring Kimi is an improvement over the last few seasons.

I can only hope both Kimi and Ferrari will raise their game and that in the end, both Kimi and Alonso can say they got the most out of the car. Whether or not that is enough for a title, remains to be seen.

 

If "at Ferrari, the bar is at it's highest" - (and I see no reason why it SHOULDN'T be) - then they need to start setting the bar WITH THE CAR.

 

I am excited for Felipe at Williams, they have definitely upped their game especially with Bottas as well.
Phil definitely would have found the podium but for being rear ended.
GV27TIFOSI