from autosport.com: I always knew I wasn´t alone in believing Massa is at least worthy of his Ferrari-drive.
Massa has always been very quick. His issue has been recovering from mistakes. Not bouncing back the next race -- Massa with something to prove is a fair bet for a podium. But recovering in the middle of a mistake has been an issue -- letting the car get loose in Malaysia only became a disaster because he couldn't keep it from spinning into the gravel trap. When the team messed up his fuel load in qualifying, last year, he wasn't able to recover much from it. "Damage control" is what makes Massa appear inconsistent. When a minor problem becomes a DNF, Massa's points suffer. He did okay copying Schumi's '97 Monaco escape this past weekend, so maybe he's learning. But if anything keeps Felipe from a WDC, it would be letting problems cost him too much. Kimi has his off moments, too, but he seems to take them more in stride. Of course, after Schumi, all of the current F1 drivers appear somewhat inconsistent, by comparison. With Michael gone, there are only humans in the cars -- no driver-bots. Of the curent crop, Hamilton is fairly consistent, and just keeps driving regardless of errors (when the car is still mobile). Which makes the last couple of races last year a bit hard to explain. Heikki has been quick, when not plagued by issues; but it's early yet to characterize his driving. With the BMWs upping the ante, this could be an interesting season. And it will probably wind up being a matter of luck -- and which driver/team combination makes the fewest mistakes. That's racing: That's why it takes running the cars around the tracks to determine the winner. What makes Sunday's drive notable is that Massa did well at a track he didn't like. Bahrain, Turkey, Brazil: we expect Felipe to do well there. But it looks like he's starting to get a handle on some of the tracks that used to cost him points, in the past. IMO, YMMV (void where prohibited, etc.)
You weren't alone. I've been there all along. But this is a Catch 22 for me. If Felipe wins the WDC in 2008, and his chances are extremely good if he keeps up his pace, Kimi will probably retire in 2009 or 2010. That leaves the door open for Alonso. Irrespective of Fred's obvious talent, I would not want to see him at Ferrari. So maybe Felipe should back off.
That has always been my theory for Irvine in 1999. No way Ferrari would let a driver who earned about a quarter of Schumacher´s salary, win the first title in twenty years. Schumacher was pitched to the sponsor who picked up the salary-tab as the one driver that could do the job, so the team had no interest in Irvine winning it. I wasn´t so surprised Irvine was left hang out to dry in Suzuka that year. But that is a different matter.
I hope you are wrong. This would be yet another reason to switch allegiance to another team or driver. They all have politics, but Ferrari appears to be going back to the days of old with an attitude that actually got them off the front row. If this were to happen, Massa will be #1 at one of the other front running teams in 2009 and will come back to haunt Ferrari. Montezemelo might be crass enough to allow this, but I think Domenicali is smart enough to prevent this from happening.
Massa always does well when he's leading the race. It's when he's not leading he seems to have issues. He's been tearing up the grid a of late though so if he keep doing that what he does when he's not leading won't even be an issue. I do agree about Prost's assessment of Raikonnen though Kimi is playing it safe a lot of the time I believe.
And so have all the others. Last year there were just two or three races that weren't won from pole. F1's problem, not Massa's fault.
Brian , he will get back on form, all the top driver's have had some bad races up to now this year. Kimi loves a fight from behind, it just seem's he appear's unfazed.
Well, yes, for Raikkonen. He seems like an OK guy. Massa is on his way. I see him bucking instructions and going for the win anyway. And I just do not want to see Alonso at Ferrari.
Massa is looking to be the faster driver at this point of the season. Not a surprise there, he's always been quick. The question with him was always if he could get his head on straight and be consistant. It's not impossible for a driver to settle down and "come of age" as Sir Jackie would say, as a driver. It happened with Mika, he was all over the place and horribly inconsistant at one point untill he settled down. The same could be happening with Massa, only time will tell.
Kimi already has his. Plus, like the commentators were discussing, Kimi isn't the type to be an F1 "lifer", so Ferrari won't mold their efforts around him like they did for Michael. The thing to remember is, Ferrari won't cut off their nose to spite their face. Winning the Championship is first and foremost, and whichever one of their drivers claims honors is secondary.
I honestly don't think Raikkonen has the motivation to continue in F1 past 2009. If Massa keeps his consistency, then we might see a young gun like Kubica or Rosberg come in to replace the Kimster. If Massa loses his consistency, then we may see an older, proven champion.....like Alonso.
Kimi's problem has been motivation. Looks like he's in a lul now, but that can change. As far as his long term motivation I would not venture a guess as to his plans. Not exactly the worst job in the world. The grass is always greener on the other side. I don't think he has the Lauda,J Stewart, Etc motivation to do great things other than setting new records for blood/alcohol levels and surviving. Massa can win the WDC if he can keep it up on "his" tracks but more importantly not let the red mist take over and DNF at his mediocre tracks. The guy I'm actually starting to appreciate more is Rubens. A little late.
I disagree. IMO, I think Massa's inconsistencies will be plenty enough reason to continue keeping him from winning a WDC.
Can't make my mind up with that, however this year's end result will have a bearing on that methinks.
actually, ur right, Steve. Kimi probably doesn't like to fight while being in front. can't blame him. damn those Mclaren years
