(from autosport.com) Massa denies problems with new rules By Jonathan Noble and Pablo Elizalde Thursday, April 3rd 2008, 14:43 GMT Felipe Massa has denied he is having problems adapting to the new regulations banning driving aids, and said his retirement from the Malaysian Grand Prix was not his fault. "No, definitely not," Massa told reporters when asked if he was struggling with this year's regulations. "I am comfortable in the car. I just had bad results. "That can happen and I know what I am doing, and I know what I have to do to be quick, to drive fast and to be consistent. "So, even if we have a bad result in Malaysia, I started on pole, I did a very nice lap and I know I can be quick. So we just need to put things together." Massa retired from the Sepang race after spinning off the track when running in second place and he is yet to score a point this season. The Ferrari driver denied, however, that the spin was his fault. "In Australia we had a failure in the car, and in Malaysia I cannot say that I made a mistake, because it was not the case," he said. "But I just hit one kerb and it changed the configuration of my car, and that caused the retirements. It was two different problems and we cannot say they were the same thing." The Brazilian says he is not dwelling on the past and is focusing on kicking off his title challenge this weekend. "I am only thinking about this race," he said. "The important thing is that we have a good car and a good team, and I am looking forward to having a great result. The only way to be happy and to finish everything is to have a good result, so I am looking at having a good result. "I am not the guy who is looking backwards and starts crying. We have a race this weekend and I am looking forward to getting a good result." Personal opinion: This make me admire people who admit they made a mistake (like Kimi said he made mistakes in Australia, no excuse). Is it a lack of self confidence that cause Massa deny all the mistakes he makes? I always believe a person can never learn from their mistakes if they don't acknowledge them and find all sort of excuses to blame instead......
Perfectly said. What a joke, Massa making P.Diddy err I mean Lewis Hamilton look humble (maybe that's a stretch, haha). +1 to Kimi telling it how it is. His performance seems to really be getting to the Brazilian Dwarf. The aggressive start cutting across Kimi, pushing way too hard, etc...
Umm so HE hit a curb and that changed the configuration of the car, but it's not his fault? How does that work?
The other day I ran into a brick wall with my car, it was the walls fault though. Felipe's logic matches his driving ability.
This one time I ran my car into a kerb. It broke the front suspension and therefore the kerb allowed the car to be damaged and I wrecked. A different time, my engine seized on the dyno. That's all there is to it. The 2 incidents I would perhaps say are unrelated, and it was clearly the kerb causing the problems, not my driving abilities, as you can see.
I see, said the blind man to the deaf dog.... Maybe we can merge this thread and the Massa support thread.....: )
He explained it clearly: He hit a kerb and it changed the configuration of his car. Translation: I whacked a kerb pretty f*cking hard and it busted my ride, yo. I have nothing against Massa, I think he's a decent driver - but he should sack up and shoulder the part of the blame that, surely, must ride with him.
Seriously, WHO'S F##K##G FAULT WAS IT. My respect for Massa has lowered now. Why the F##K can't he admit it was his fault. When Kimi made those mistakes in Australia, he came out and said it was his own fault. Why can't Massa do the same ?
It's a matter of expectations. If he knew that riding the kerb hard would cause a problem he should have avoided it and then it's his fault. If however the Ferrari is supposed to be able to ride the kerb hard without changing anything to the configuration of the car -whatever that means- then Massa's right. Having said that it sounds quite weak and I think it wasn't necessary anyway to come up with an excuse. Just let it blow over and do the talking on the track. In the end that's all that counts.
I'm not sure how to interpret this. In any other team, I'd think this was pretty lame. But Ferrari has a team record of not being very forthcoming about incidents and their causes. Remember when Kimi's car made a sudden right turn into the wall on its own, and the "explanation" was that there was a "bump in the track"? Uh huh. Or the number of unspecified "engine failures" that might have been "the engine failed to continue running when there was no more fuel on board"? The way the team blows smoke is one of the things that makes it hard to be a fan of the Ferrari team. (Even for a fan of the cars.) Apparently, "oops" is a "four letter word" in italian, too. So is this Massa on his own, or being a team player? I'm not sure we'll ever know for sure.
i believe what Massa is trying to say is, it wasn't entirely his fault. of cos, he was driving the car, anyhow it has to do with his driving. i think, he was pushing, somehow, misjudged the kerb, went over, lost all sorts of downforce, and lost the rear.
Massa wasn't anywhere near a curb (Kerb) when he lost the car. He lost it in the sweepers and collected gravel as a result. Schumi never made excuses or placed blame. He looked at the sheets for places where he could do better. Oh yeah, the aero stalled and made me drive off. That's so Schumi, LOL. I look forward to many great excuses from Massa this season. "My driving boots don't fit correctly. One size too small." "My visor had oil and mist on them." "My shoelace broke and I had to pit." "I'm not sure what anti-clockwise is all about. Everyone else racing past me in the wrong direction had incorrect pit notes."
Speed said this morning that what happened to Hamilton was the same thing that happened to Massa last race. They were also talking about the mirror placement on certain cars not allowing them to see cars coming up from behind and that was the main reason for DC hitting Massa.
Speed compared Massa's spin last race with that of Hamilton today, so if his spin made Massa suck, then I guess the same goes for Hamilton. Speed also compared the Massa vs DC incident with that between Alonso and Sutil towards the end of today's practice, so if THAT incident made Massa suck, then I guess the same goes for Alonso. Reality is that every driver will make mistakes, and it is way to early to judge Massa's season after only two races. Massa has proven his speed over and over again, and at this stage of the season, I would certainly say that his title hopes are realistic. I have no problem with some/many/most people preferring Kimi over Felipe, but on a forum allegedly filled with Ferrari fans, I think the current level of Massa criticism is unreasonable.
Well according to Hamilton, "I was just pushing and sometimes these things happen. I am absolutely fine, and hopefully the damage to the car is not too bad."* In other words he over-cooked it into the corner and it was his fault. He admits it. So, SPEED TV is saying it' was Massa's own fault for spinning in the race. The difference? Well, a driver should be pushing the limits in testing and can be forgiven for having an off. I'd be wary of a driver who wasn't going off the circuit every now and again during practice or testing. During a race though is another matter altogether as I think you'll agree. If Massa can qualify on pole and get out front he could win this weekend. If not, we might see a repeat performance from last race. There are supposed to be high winds and that should make the driving a bit more difficult and the track a bit sandier this weekend. We'll see how he does. *http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/66336
Schumacher did place blame on his car before sorry, perfect example was when he blocked the track at Monaco. Even it the car was stone dead the breaks would of worked... I'm a big Schumi fan but he could of controlled that situation a lot better. This is a lame thread and a lame report by the news, he has said it was his fault before this latest news report. I think the only reason the main cry babies or haters of Massa keep this BS up is because you are just the type of people who have to mouth off all the time and you know nothing else of the sport or how to keep your mouth shut and root for your team. It shows what kind of fans you really are...that you only like who wins.
stop, just stop with your 'what kind of fans you really are' mumbo jumbo... you go on ahead and be happy rooting for your team...the rest of us will criticize whenever we feel like. no blind love here, no sir.
Go a head keep up the cry baby routine then, I'm done listening and I think most other people here are as well...
then stop your bs about what a 'real tifosi' should be mambuh jahambuh!!! you come off ridiculous making statements how 'bashers show what kind of people they really are'. BS!!! I've been a Ferrari for 20+ years, and have never been a blind fanboy and love anything and everything 'my team' does. Ferrari drivers and the team have done some shady Sh@$%@$ in the past, so you want me to support all that regardless. uh, no sir, i ***** and moan like all fans/supporters would. I don't grin and bear it, show blind love.
