The Massa Sucks Thread *OF COURSE THERE ARE SPOILERS*

Massa has become a good number 2 again. I call it Massa 3.0

I certainly don't think Webber would be a better fit. I don't think there is a driver on he grid whose head is better accepting of being number 2 at a top team. And that's the rub, IMHO... You might replace Massa with a faster driver,... but will he (she) be accepting of the number 2 assignment? Team chemistry between the drivers at Ferrari (at least what we see), is as good as can be hoped for.

Given Massa's current level of performance,... be careful what you wish for.

 

I am referring to "today's Massa" of course. Pre-accident Massa was amongst a not so stellar field of drivers, if compared to today's group of drivers, so this scenario conbines his accident driven change with a very strong field of drivers such as Alonso, Vettel, Kimi, Hamilton, and others. Trust me, as Brazilian and Italian I would wish nothing but a strong F1 Brazilian driver defending the SF, but reality did set in this past weekend, and he simply isn't a consistent podium driver. SF should move on. Cheers.

 

Generally, we are referring to the Non WDC winning Massa which covers both pre and post accident versions.

 

Well said! I keep saying that Massa's race strategy keeps getting compromised....It's not all his fault. The politics in this sport really sucks.

 

Do you guys really believe that Ferrari would purposefully do this? They would, on purpose, cause the second car to get less points than it would otherwise?

I'm a Massa fan, but the sad fact is that the guys running his car are simply being out thought by the Alonso guys and Massa is a slower driver in race trim than Alonso. Period.

Do they on occasion make sure Massa"s not in Alonso's way? Yes. But to think that they would, under all circumstances, purposefully put Massa in a position that they would end up getting less points for the team is pretty paranoid. The faster qualifying positons from Massa in the last few races are real (although I suspect he's sacrificing quali position for race pace, which again goes back to poor strategy). At worst, in the race, they would want to have Massa one position behind Alonso to maximize points. Massa got thrashed (and everyone else) by a faster car and a faster driver yesterday. And that's the usual state of affairs for Massa vs. Alonso since Fernando got there. There's no conspiracy other than Fernando is demonstrably faster.

 

+1. The voice of reason.

 

Well said.
As for pit stops, the timing of Massa's may be compromised to fit Alonso's schedule but they are just as quick. Yesterday he had the fastest stop of the race.

 

It's the timing of his stops that are half the problem. They keep bringing him in a lap to one side of Alonso, regardless of track situation.

It's not so much that they're trying to push him back as much as they just aren't paying attention. The "other car" is not on their radar.

But I still don't know why Rob keeps telling Massa to slow down and "preserve his tires".

What other reason is there for Massa to suddenly stop gaining positions?
He didn't suddenly just "get tired" after his second stop.
But the change in strategy was certainly noticeable.
He goes from passing Webber and Button and anyone else in his path on his second stint to suddenly holding formation on the Sauber for the entire third stint?
With the way Hulk faded in the second half, that's probably what pushed Massa back so far.
Dusting off the Sauber in the third stint, instead of having to race him down pit lane in the third stop, would have certainly have improved his finish.

Ferrari, since Brawn left, hasn't been very good at adapting their race strategy, and it appears that they still have no attention to spare for the second car.

 

I don't believe there's a conpsiracy against Massa, but how else to explain why he does so well during quali's then drops off the radar during the race? Is it him, is it the team ? Is it both ? Are the tires really affecting him because of his driving style ? He can't seem to catch a break... It would be nice to see him finish a few races just behind Alonso and maybe win one... I'm just frustrated for the guy...

 

As Merc showed, the timing of stops is no longer the issue it once was. With a stop taking less than 3 seconds, the cars can come in back to back on the same lap with no material impact on their individual race. You can look for fault with the team all you want, but at the end of day, the issue is with the nut holding the wheel.

 

Same thing happened in Malaysia. Qualified second and finished 5th. No Alonso to blame as he was out in the first few corners. Phil needs to exorcize the race day demons from his head.

 

If I were Alonso I'd be worried.
Has he ever noticed the he is brought in a lap one side of Massa regardless of track situation ?

 

What bothers me most about Massa is that he gives up the position so easily. He never seems to make one move to prevent the pass. He just pulls out the cape and shouts "ole'!"

 

Alonso was perfect yestarday and massa was as fast as he until called to the pits...just like Australia, before pitting massa was in front...then we all know what happened. It´s plain simple, the first to change tyres get´s the edge, simply because they call them in at the first sign tyres are going off, and one lap later the driver is already 2 sec per lap slower, so, if the pack is together, the second guy stoping is going to loose a couple of places. let´s be serious here, they where together before first stop and how may places after did massa loose to Alonso? Put Alonso 5 or 6 plaves behind massa with the same strategy, and you will see how many seconds he fiishes behind...40sec is not a real diference but simply the time it takes to overtake all this guys...even if it wa sclear that on mediums Alonso had much more pace.

 

Alonso always gets the good one.

 

LOL

Great point.

From now on he's fading Phil in my book.

 

Excellent post.

Pretty much sums it up.

 

I made that point right after the race.

I think he is fading from pretty much every team manager's book too. I doubt he'll find another seat in F1 once Ferrari releases him.

 

Very few drivers have made leaving Ferrari a step up.
Phil won't be one of them.

 

More of the same from the Massa apologists...

 

There is way too much money at stake in the Constructors Championship for Ferrari to conspire against Massa. The Driver's Championship gives them ZERO dollars.

I think Massa just sucks.

 

The WCC brings in big FIA bucks, the WDC brings in the big sponsor bucks.

Not disagreeing with your statement just clarifying.

 

Not FIA bucks but rather Bernie bucks. [This is, as you know, what the Lunatic "sold" him for a hundred years.]

+1

However, there's not often much disparity between the two; Not often does the WDC not drive the WCC car..... It's difficult to separate the $ is my point I guess.

Cheers,
Ian

 

Sorry to have confused weasels.

 

Phil's wake-up call?

Ferrari boss Domenicali hails Bianchi's start to 2013 F1 season - F1 news - AUTOSPORT.com