MASSAPPEAL - An Article By Peter Windsor

Good post. Forza Ferrari and Forza Massa!

Edit: and Forza Kimi too!

 

Since Michael left I don't care who wins as long as its a Ferrari driver.

 

Agree 100% with you Ron, great post.

Massa 07!

 

Yes that's another more informed opinion, but it is still an opinion.

Problem is if Kimi out qualifies Massa and is simply faster ... how the heck is Massa going to score more points coming in 2nd?. Massa is never going to pass Kimi on the track, never.

Also Luca hired Kimi, last I heard Luca runs Ferrari, and Luca has been very, very specific in that Kimi was hired to win the 2007 WDC!
Pete

 

Amazing that Windsor would write such nonsense. I lost all respect for the man.

The quotes Prova85 posted from Matchett point IMHO a much more realistic picture: The Scuderia is changing from the MS family style to the icy racing team. http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=143413&page=2 Post#16

Frankly I care a lot more about Matchett. BTW: Did I mention, that Matchett wrote one of the best books about F1?

We should send Windsor an email at Speed TV at the end of the season with his article and the final points standings attached.

 

I used to like Peter Windsor quite a bit when he wrote for Autoweek and was good friends with Gilles V. He was also at one time a team manager with Williams. However, just as stated above, this his opinion, he also thought that with the one tire rule in 2005 that Ferrari would dominate with Bridgestone. Lets see how the season plays out, as Ron has said fairly, lets wait for a mid season report card.

 

Well, that's great that Windsor has such great things to say about Massa. I think #2 is the type of quality that can exemplify success in any discipline. Personally, as far as Massa's concerned I'm sort of neutral to slightly for him. Not against Kimi--I like him too. Massa just doesn't create any sparks for me. Quite a long time ago there was a "discussion" on this board that basically boiled down to someone's opinion of how, since we're all outsiders, we don't know anything about F1 and shouldn't cast opinions. While it's true none of us know the true men inside the helmets--few people ever do, including your contacts--in some ways it's easier to judge objectively by not allowing personal sentiments to cloud our opinions. Sometimes those on the inside can be equally biased because of their close proximity to the subject at hand.

That said, it sounds to me like Massa definitely possesses the personal traits to make a winning, even possibly Champion, racer. But as far as judging talent, I go by what happens on the track. He's already a multiple race-winner, driving for a top team. Let's run the races and see what plays out.

 

....and Kimi will do Massa's head in and then blow his doors off - simply because he has total self belief and, ultimately, is faster. It became pretty obvious last weekend that he's been sand-bagging all winter. Some of the looks on Massa's face during the weekend spoke volumes.

We shall find out for sure over the next 5 or 6 races.

I.

 

well said!
No because Kimi won the 1st. race doesn't means he will win the WDC.


Forza Ferrari !
Forza Massa !

Felipe Massa WDC 2007

 

Nice article

 

That quote says it all ... when people talk about Kimi, they use the word will.

Even Winsor doubts Massa's speed.
Pete

 

Windsor admits that Kimi is faster now. So he will get faster than Kimi because the Italians like him better? Let's hope he gets faster for whatever reason...and fast.

 

Massa's being close to his family and dressing down, not up has way less relevance to winning races than calling yourself James Hunt and blowing away the field in a snowmobile race. Overall this is an article that really says nothing compelling. For example:

1. Massa "knows" the Bridgestones.....well, it looks like Kimi knows them just as well already.
2. Massa has experience with the team and has won two races.... Kimi has a better win ratio in Ferrari's than any driver in the history of Ferrari. In fact, he has won every race he has been in as a Ferrari driver!!

You get my point, things can be said that really don't mean a lot.



Once again my predictions for 2007:
1. Kimi will outqualify Massa
2. Kimi will finish ahead of Massa in points
3. Kimi will be more fun to watch than Massa

 

Apparently, the fans get personal sentiments too: there are times when the discussions here sound more like a group of rugby fans than F1 analysts.

But then, I've liked Massa since he was the "wild child" at Sauber.

When I first heard about Kimi going to Ferrari, my thought was that he'd be faster than Massa -- right up until his car broke under him.

Lack of involvement with the engineering, language issues with the team staff, etc., could still give Kimi issues.

But from this first race, it appears that Kimi may have made progress in getting a feel for the machine, while staying fast.

Time will tell if Massa will continue to improve without Shumacher's guidance.

I think Ferrari has a good pair of drivers. If they can keep their gearbox running, they've got a good shot at the make's championship. That's not the one that gets the parades, but that's the one I care about.

But Alonso and Hamilton are also likely to be stiff competition. I think the manufacturer's title will be decided by reliability.

As for WDC: If we knew the results, it wouldn't be as fun to watch.

 

+1

we need more time..

 

I have very distinct memories of the political mess that was Ferrari before Todt took over the team, when the team was run by Italian "passion". Infighting, bickering, lack of focus, etc.

Italian passion and emotion are the reason that Italy has had 60 different governments in the last 50 years. Ferrari succeeded because those at the top in the past 10 years were NOT Italian.

 

+1

The brilliant Montezemolo being the laudable exception to this.

In the years before Todt took over Maranello was referred to in the press as "the house of a 1,000 lies". Remember when they made up excuses to Enzo for why the cars broke down, again.

 

The fun thing about these early season opinions is that anything goes...any opinion is valid simply because there is not enough data to point to the facts yet. At this point in time you could make an argument for anything.

But, how accurate were your predictions in the one race that has actually been run?
1) Yes, but only because of problems unrelated to Massa's driving (I doubt going over the curb caused the tranny failure, Hamilton did it twice in the "less reliable" McLaren and he finished his race)
2) True
3) False. Massa was more fun to watch.

FWIW, you're 2 for 3.

Except for #3, I think you are right in your predictions, but I still hope Massa comes out ahead. He seems (from admittedly unreliable press accounts) to be an all around nicer, harder working guy.

 

You make comments like this and then you have the gall to call others "arrogant".

Lewis Hamilton's dad is a personal acquaintance of mine. My firm used him as an IT consultant in our London office up to a year ago. Does that make me an F1 insider??

What you pass as "inside information" sounds an awful lot like just another person's opinion to the rest of us.

Coming from a guy that thinks Danica Patrick is a race driver...

If you think lapping two seconds slower than your teammate is an excellent job, then there is nothing more I can say that will educate you.

In other posts, you castigated other contributors for citing journalists, Autosport, and F1 magazine as sources. Suddenly you find those sources to be relevant?

If all you have to hang your hat on is the word of Peter Windsor, then you have already lost the argument.

Great, he has learned from Todt and Schumacher. He dresses casually. He is nice to his parents.

How does any of this translate to speed on the race track?!?

This quote is completely irrelevant.

To paraphrase you, Ron, since when has Windsor become Massa's personaly psychologist? Can he read Massa's thoughts? Does Massa communicate to him telepathically?

This is one man's opinion, and once again says nothing about his speed on the race track.

He was well behind MS on the race track and he is well behind Kimi on the race track. Nothing said here changes the fact that he has been soundly thrashed by every teammate he has ever had.

Michale learnt Italian because Rubens, who was already fluent, was joining the team and MS did not want to give away an advantage. Not speaking Italian was no obstacle for MS during the Irvine years and there is no reason to believe Kimi wouldn't learn Italian if he so chose nor is there any reason to believe that Kimi will be hampered. After all, barely speaking English was apparently no handicap to him on joining McLaren.

Yes, this clearly handicapped Kimi in Australia...

Every top driver has his own way of doing things. Kimi is as fast as any driver in F1, including Shumacher, doing things his own way. What worked for MS does not necessarily work for Kimi, Alonso, Senna, Prost or any other top driver, it merely worked for MS.

Unless Michael is wrenching for Kimi, I fail to see the relevance in this comment.

Of course. Had Massa not had this first hand knowledge of the Bridgestones, he might have been 3 or 4 seconds a lap slower than Kimi, instead of only 2.

That's one way to look at it.

Alternatively one can say that Ferrari is more of a blank slate, which works to Kimi's advantage.

Great. People like him. When good wishes translates into raw speed on the race track, then call me. Until then, file this under "irrelevant"

Great. he went from crash-prone backmarker to crash-prone midpack runner.

He is still nowhere near the top of the grid. He can improve all he wants, he will never be another Kimi, Alonso, or MS. He is not even a JPM or Button.

Prediction: this will go by the wayside as have most of Windsor's pre-season predictions. This is a joke.

By this time next year, I may have won Mega Bucks too. Just don't bet on it.

Have you polled the entire paddock? How is this a fact? It certainly appears from all the interviews I have read that the only one who believes this, other than Massa, is you.

This article is a joke. This is the justification for your arguments? This is the supportive evidence you have?

All I have read is that Massa is a nice guy, who calls his mom on weekends, and has improved himself in the process. Nothing here in any way changes or refutes anyone's argument that Massa is, and always will be, nothing more than a #2 driver.

I have yet to see anything in print or on track that has refuted the fact that Massa has been unable to beat any teammate, ANY teammate, in F1 ever, let alone pace the entire grid.

This article of yours says absolutely nothing to change this fact.

 

No, no Melburne. I expect to be at the Ferrari pits in Montreal next June.