Well stated. The days of Ferrari being to Holy Grail to EVERY driver are gone. A good gig if you can get it, sure - but I do not feel it carries the same prestige it once did. I am a Massa supporter and agree he needs to "man up" this year if he has any hope of retaining any stature in the sport. I hope he can clear his head, focus, and once again fight for wins - providing the Scuderia builds a decent car this year. Mike - you have a PM (soon)
He did that this year, and got knee-capped by a thug. Montezemolo needs to realize that his turn at the helm, while successful, was generations ago and, while he's at it, stop treating the clay styling models as Signor Testapatate.
IMO Massa's chance of ever becoming a WDC came and went in a flash, the minute Hamilton passed Glock in Brazil 08. I do however sympathise with all Massa fans this year. It is a very tricky one, the right thing was done in respect of team orders, as the result was Alonso was in the mix for winning the WDC right to the death, however the timing of it could not have been worse. As regards to Alonso, whoever he drives along side they know the score, if they fight him trouble will ensue. Ferrari and every team on the grid know this, so as long as he can back up the fact his given No 1 status, with results on the track, it won't change.
This is nice when you can actually beat your teammate, but if you´re 0.4 tenths slower in qualifying like Massa this year, the only honourable solution is letting the other guy pass when you´re asked for. Let´s hope he wakes up, or we will see more shows like the German GP next year.
If you can't pass call Mama? Thats Alonso's problem to solve. Too bad he didnt get to show us how its done in Germany as the team stepped in. Fully disagree. If you can't pass too bad. We should ban passing altogether then. Fear of crashing? Hilarious. Just put them on a slot car track.
If Luca hadn't made it clear he wouldn't be allowed to win it, in Germany, he might have. Alonso certainly wasn't looking championshippy at that point either.
Waaaay more than Massa. And don't look just at the points table. Four tenths per lap is a lot between team mates. And I defended Massa in all the Massa bashing threads (ah the good ole times) and when Ferrari allowed him to race Alonso in the first races of the season (and he already was a lot slower then). But enough is enough, he must better start drivin like he did in 2008.
Or let them race each other RedBull in Turkey style. Ferrari was smart not to risk both cars. Red Bull was too btw, but Webber's engineer didn't play along.
I have never been a fan of team orders; even you have to admit that the Germany situation was poorly executed, and poorly received worldwide. It was incredibly refreshing - even if it failed - watching Red Bull let their drivers battle....
here's an article about that http://www.autoevolution.com/news/red-bull-absolve-webber-s-race-engineer-of-turkey-mistake-21268.html
Agreed on all. Bingo and thanks for doing the legwork. Currently traveling in Europe, so not much time for FChat etc. (going to see a private collection of exotics and race cars tonight, including some F1s)
Cars were inside, but yes, outside, tons of snow. And yes, there will be a picture thread. Unbelievable what was in that collection. Seriously.
I'am a big skier I love it...ON THE MOUNTAINS NOT ON MY DRIVE!. Look forward to seeing your pics, have a good time keep safe, the weather is causing some serious problems here, and in Europe.
Thanks. First I have to get organized again. Currently in Malta with very intermittent internet access. Has to wait till I'm back on continental solid ground. Saw some real time warps today: Original Cinquecento and a 40+ year old Citroen I used to have as a toy as a kid. And then a Gallardo. Go figure. Hey, kraftwerk: No snow here!