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

One thing Kimi has going for him, is that he's got a much cooler temperament than Alonso. And if this year's car doesn't improve, I don't see him complaining as much, which bodes well in that team....

 

Kimi not complaining is Kimi not caring. He won't be part of the solution if there are problems. Alonso will.

 

Doesn't mean Kimi shouldn't be doing what he is getting paid for. In Australia, he delivered too little. I think the team expects more.

 

Somehow I dont see Alonso sharing his set up with his new found pal.
Kimis going to have to work for it.
IMO he will.

 

I don't know. He made the 2009 car work and it was a dog. I think he participates more than is given credit for.

 

So, nobody wants to comment on why his brakes were locking up EVERYWHERE?

(as I recall, even on the approach to pit lane)

I think the comment made by the sportscasters that the balance between the energy recovery system and the front brakes was WAY OFF.

I expect him to do much better in future races.

 

I don't think Massa could have come out unscathed like Kimi had in the mess he had to deal with Sunday. Kimi has a pair of very safe hands, although I do not believe he is as quick as Fred

 

Personally, I think Massa would have been much worse than Kimi. Massa would not
be as refreshened as he is now, and the F car issues would give him more problems
than to Kimi. Massa is feeling great now with the best engine at the moment, sorry
power unit, but even more importantly, he feels he is the number 1 driver,
which is going to help him greatly in the mental aspect.

 

+1

Kimi rocks

 

Really? I didn't see the treads chunking or separating - and I am pretty sure I saw the rears locking up as well.

 

Maybe he was thinking he was the number 1 driver, but he's now in fact the #2 driver, behind his teammate on points. I'm sure he will have excuses to justify that and maintain the illusion that he's still the number one, for another two weeks at least...

 

eh?

 

inter team comparisons are difficult to objectively measure.

Let's see Massa beat his teammate consistently before comparing him to drivers in other equipment.

I have been and remain a Massa supporter, but I suspect Bottas will be proven a better point scorer. I wish him the best and hope to see him on the top step of the podium this year.

On my fantasy F1 team I wanted a Williams driver, and I strategically positioned myself for Bottas. For what it's worth.

 

Apparently he wasn't the only driver who had graining.
It seems to be related to the energy harvesting system. It requires a specific setting for each corner switching modes requires driver input. Get it wrong and it tears up the tires.
No wonder they seemed a bit distracted at times.

 

I think this discussion is a bit pointless..we had one race, one guy had to finish ahead of the other, it´s as simple as that. FErrari cost Kimi 2 places at the stop and gained one for Fred....it´s as simple as that..same thing hapened with massa all the time, Alonso gained places and Felipe lost them...no driver fault here. Kimi started far behind with a dificult car to drive, given the circunstances i think he did a good job. He as nothing to prove against anyone, he has already shown what he can do, with sauber, with mclaren, with ferrari, with renault....people can like him or not but he was always on top of his game in every team he drove for.

 

About the same - Alonso has things centered around him - good look joining Ferrari and beating him.

The hard thing for Kimi - is that Ferrari have been making decisions based on aerodynamic performance over mechanical drive-ability. Kimi at Lotus worked on making the car "more comfortable" so to speak.

This is going to be a very strange driver pairing.

 

As Matchett was saying the rear braking has a good percentage attributable to the ERS system. I dont know if the harvesting is done at each brake zone or just some and the bias will change for each of those requirements. Kimi knows how to set bias. This is not his first rodeo. IMO it was either a systemic failure, a poor set up, or he didn't have his head wrapped around the system yet. In either case if Alonso got it he will (eventually and soon).

IMO it was a system problem.

 

Normally I'd agree but with all new cars this year someone may hit a bad run of luck. Imagine if Lewis' car breaks again in the next few races. It doesn't mean nico is wiping the floor with him it's just bad luck

 

Huh? It was the first race. Give him some time. Kimi is a great driver and a huge asset over having Massa in the second seat.

 

I know you're a huge Kimi fan but 15 seconds is an eternity. Alonso was stuck behind Hulkenburg for loads of laps, too. Let's not start with the "he was only XX seconds behind Alonso" like the Massa fans last year. I remember some stating that Massa finished "only" 30 seconds behind on one occasion and acting like it was no biggie!

Alonso comprehensively won this round, but Kimi is going to be close to him, if not better, at his fair share of tracks.

 

I believe Kimi will really shine at Tilke circuits while Fred will be quicker at the street courses and older circuits. Kimi relies on a very smooth circuit for his technique to flow whilst Fred is quick anywhere, but especially at odd venues where guts = glory.