LdM - Not really a fan of Felipe :)

I read the article more as another criticism of Alonso, showing once again how much of a ***** he is.

At least the position is clear for Felippe. What he does with it is up to him. I will once again root for him in spite of all the things that will work against him. Underdog thing I guess.

 

Kind of ironic that Felipe disappears after being demoted to number 2 in a very public way isn't it?

 

This isn't really an article but an opinion piece from yet another Alonso hater pretending to be an unbiased journalist. <sigh>

As for Massa: He is on his last leg and I expect him to be sacked by Ferrari next year.

 

+1

 

No biggie. It's no secret Massa underperformed this season. He needs to realize that and pull up his socks.

 

I'n afraid so too but with whom should they replace him? So they need someone who is willing to play second fiddle yet is good enough to keep the competition at bay and pick up the title battle/points should Alonso fail. Mission impossible?

 

Given that it is most F1 drivers' dream to one day race for Ferrari, it shouldn't be hard to find some volunteers.

The most obvious and immediate answer is the newly hired test driver. Test driver for what? IMHO this guy is already being groomed to take over from Massa and if nothing else was hired to put the fear of God into Massa.

But there are lots of other really good drivers who'd dump their current team in a heart beat if Ferrari starts calling. Most obvious would be Button. Then there is Webber and Rosberg. From the lesser known names Sutil and Glock come to mind.

This year Ferrari was nice giving Massa the chance to come back from his accident, but he didn't live up to expectations. My only question is how many races will they give him next year before they pull the plug? I don't expect him to finish the season at Ferrari.

 

Button, I don't think so or he'll have to eat his own words of never wanting to be a #2 driver.
Same for Webber, he'll not accept the #2 role. Rosberg will also want to be #1, don't see that working either.
Sutil maybe, but he'll get frustrated I think. Glock yes, but I doubt he'll do better than Massa.

If Ferrari want a driver that does a better job than Massa and at the same time accept the #2 role they'll have a tough one to find such a driver IMHO.

 

They might not publicly state this, but to me both of them drove as #2 support drivers in the last few races.

Let's be very clear about this: RedBull has been using team orders all year long.

 

Nelson Piquet Jr. !

 

Bottom line is... Massa was being "shat" on heavily this season. I am not a fan of Massa, but you can't help but feel bad for the guy. Just when Massa was coming back around, heading toward's a potential win in Germany, the Prancing Horse organization told him to GTFO....

It's not fair, but at the same time, that's how they roll at Ferrari. I was a fan of Alonso prior to this season, and was pumped when his announcement of joining Ferrari went public, but he is/has become such a spoiled brat there. Anytime he cries, Montezemolo and company console him like a teething child.... Seriously?

 

Really? So, why did Massa qualify several places behind Alonso in almost every race last year? Why did he run consistenly slower than Alonso in almost every pre-race practice? Do you honestly think Ferrari sandbagged his car in qualifying just to make Alonso seem stronger?

Or, could it just be that Alonso is a better driver who qualifies better. Wow, what a simple concept. Nah -- it's better to come up with conspiracy theories..... more fun.

Qualifying is the key to success in F1. The better you qualify, the better chance you have to get points. Passing is so difficult so you lose too much time getting to the front. Plus it's easy to get caught up in an accident mid pack.

Do you know how Massa can get back on top? Out qualify Alonso.

 

you took my text out of proportion. I never stated/claimed or alleged that Massa was a better driver than Alonso, it's clear that Alonso is the better driver, but the Prancing Horse could have done a lot more or at the very least handled things in a different manner?, in efforts of helping Massa stay motivated so that he could properly "perform" as the #2 that his role is to fulfill.

After the incident in Germany, the Prancing Horse organization has lost a lot of respect...

And on that note, I don't think that Massa will make it with Ferrari to the 2011 season. I do expect a change in their driver line-up, with Massa's seat vacated.

I agre with your comment regarding quali. In these days of no re-fueling, you either start at/or near the top, or buckle in for a rough ride.

There is no way that Massa can/will out qualify Alonso, he'll get Smedley blowing up his ears over the radio.... Alonso NEEDS to be Faster Than You!

 

Glock will never drive a Ferrari. They still hold a grudge from 2008 (Smedley's "threw in the towel" comment in a recent interview).

 

Should Massa be replaced, Sutil, Vettel, Kubica are a few names that can thrown in.

 

This was a dinner where Luca was joking about both drivers, the Euro press ran with it, like you did, what a joke. Just shows your true colours, cheers.

 

As a Kubica fan and fellow countryman, I would love to see Kubica at Ferrari, but due to the structure of their organization, they need a #1 and #2.... I cannot see Kubica accepting a #2 role with Alonso there. If they were more strategized like Red Bull... well.. maybe

 

I don't see why Ferrari (or any team for that matter) wants to treat drivers differently, or have a 'pecking order' among them.

The idea is that BOTH drivers should try to collect points for the team in the Constructors Championship, and not supporting the 'second' driver or undermining him is rather counter-productive in one way.

In recent years, it has been a fight to the finish, and pre-ordering the positions in the WDC by giving team orders could also turn sour. What happens if the 'leading' driver in a team has an accident, or is injured and incapacited for the rest of the season; wouldn't they be glad that the other one was ready to carry the torch, and not down in the oder.

I remember Regazzoni -definitely Number 2 at Ferrari - battling for the WDC when his team mate wasn't in contention anymore. Also, when Shumacher broke a leg at Silverstone, the Scuderia depended solely on Irvine who was in contention up to the last GP.

Even G-Hill - Number 2 at Lotus - lifted the title after Clark's death.

I also think that a team that is known to treat unfairly its 'second' drivers, could find difficult to attract established talents, and unlikey to keep a skilled newcomer for long.

By playing 'mind games' with Massa, de Montezemolo isn't helping the Scuderia in my view.

 

Small problem with that. He sucked this year in GP2. Level of talent in GP2 isn't fantastic at the moment either...

 

That every driver wants to drive for Ferrari, I think, is a myth.

I don't think Button would want to jump over there at all, I wouldn't if I was him.

He's with a British team, he's British. He isn't 2nd fiddle. At Ferrari he would be living/working in Italy (which will keep him farther from friends/family) and he would be the designated 2nd fiddle to a pr*ck like Alonso.

After seeing Alonso this year, and knowing he is a defined #1 driver, I don't think any drivers who really think they are #1's would want to go there. Button thinks he is a #1 driver (and he has a WDC to lend his argument some credence). Webber thinks he is too. So do many other drivers. Kubica probably knows he is a #1 driver.

If you look at Ferraris drivers, it's been a long time since they had a #1 guy in both seats, and it didn't work out well. Barrichello was a definite #2, as was Massa. #1 guys get upset and quit when they are made to be #2 guys.


I think the best thing for Massa to do is to stay put. If I was him, I would grin and bear it, but I would be an utterly cold and heartless bastard of bastards to Alonso next year. I would not give him a micrometer of help or room of consideration. He pulls a move like the pit-lane cutoff, he gets punted off, even if it means a dual DNF. No more Mr. Nice Guy.

That's all Massa can do. Anything less will devalue his (already devalued) stock and he'll be out of F1 for good, or he'll be Heikki Kovalainen, driving some POS at the back of the grid.

 

One can hope.

 

It's Three-Card Monty who needs to go: You don't kneecap a driver then fault his determination in public.