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

There is no doubt that the spin in Q2 was an unforced error and it compromised his weekend. However, in an ill-handling car that could not run full power (which also affected Alonso's car but to a lesser extent as confirmed by Stefano), Kimi went from P11 to P6 just behind Alonso in P5. Objectively, this was a pretty impressive opening stint. However, when the Safety Car was deployed, Ferrari had to double stack the pit stops and Kimi lost 2 positions in the pit exchange. I don't think Kimi has lost his race craft or speed. Once the car set up improves and it can run full power, then we can gauge his competitiveness.

 

This

At the end of the season the points spread between Alonso and Kimi will be much smaller than Alonso to Massa last year.

And it'll be interesting to see what happens over at Williams. The Massa fans already put him on the podium for Melbourne. But I think Botox will out drive Massa.

 

Not sure, alonso never really impressed in Monaco where he already shunted his car several times, neither did he at Spa where Kimi rules....

 

Absolutely.

 

Massa did the smart thing. If he can maintain a points lead the team will support him over Bottas.
The drivers have learned a thing or two from Seb.

 

+1

If Bottas was as fast as he claimed, why was he behind Massa? Plus team orders at just the second race of the season?

 

There's little doubt that Bottas was faster but letting him pass wasn't in Phil's interest.
If F1 were a sport I'd be disappointed in him but there's little honor in commerce.

 

I have to agree, too early for team orders.

 

Massa learned the hard way that being the nice guy does not pay up....one thing is what he did in Brazil for Kimi in 2007, the rest is BS

 

+1!

 

Kimi once again did a good job taking a damaged car and moving it from the back of the field to almost into the points. Ferrari are very lucky to have the two of the best drivers in the world on their team. Forza!

 

Nice guy or not...Massa is and will always be a good no. 2 driver no matter where he goes. He can't hide from the truth and with only the second race the truth was once again speaking clearly. I hope he will have good success at Williams.

 

Waiting for the Kimi Sucks thread to show up.

 

Kimi brings the car home and scores points, there was no way he was going to beat Fred, but he sure doesn't stuff it every other race like Massa did so I will take Kimi any day.

 

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considering his salary. that sets a pretty low bar. I have said it before and I haven't been proved wrong yet: hiring Kimi is an (expensive) mistake.

 

I don't think much more can be expected given the car and Ferrari's history of their number 2 driver constantly stuffing the thing. Kimi's safe hands have already bought and paid for themselves as far as I'm concerned. His feedback for developing the car or bet is much better as well. He's straight and to the exact point regarding his machine which isn't common

 

+1 spending more for the same if not worse results is not a good investment. I like Kimi but he is not a good fit at Ferrari. He is a non factor. Period. Is he better than Massa? IN a very small marginal sense yes. The cost paid for a meager improvement does not justify the expenditure so far.

http://en.espnf1.com/china/motorsport/story/155145.html - Sounding just a touch like Massa here.

 

I fail to see why Kimi should be known for having 'safe' hands. He has been known to put a car into retirement. Singapore 2008 and Abu Dahbi 2013 come to mind. Also, he had no real excuse for stuffing the F14T in Bahrain during wintertesting. Either way, his hands are not that much safer than those of Massa.

We're now back at 'explaining' why the other driver can't keep up with Alonso. Not sure how that is an improvement over Massa.

I can only hope Kimi will bounce back, but since his McLaren days, he hasn't been that special to me.

 

And what exactly has Massa done since his accident?

 

Lets be fair here, Kimi is currently struggling with an incredibly complex car, that is based on a whole host of new technologies/concepts that require a very specific driving technique that does not suit his driving style at all (have a read here: Kimi Raikkonen admits driving style behind China struggle | Chinese Grand Prix | Formula 1 news, live F1 | ESPN.co.uk ).

At the moment, he is struggling to adapt to the car (along with a few other drivers), and it is making him look quite mediocre.

Massa on the other hand struggled for year after year with cars that were basically evolutions of the previous years car and never seemed to get to grips with them.


Of course, we may have got this all wrong and it could simply be the case that the performances of Massa and Kimi were the real performance of the cars. If that is the case then it makes all the achievements of Fernando in the same machinery even more extraordinary!

As for:

I thought he was pretty bloody special on the 21st October 2007!

 

not much, but not much less than Kimi is giving the Scuderia right now.

 

meh...if it wasn't for the title, it wouldn't stick to anyones memory as Kimi at his best.