Massa believes he is getting closer to Alonso
2012 F1 season
Felipe Massa says the gap between himself and team mate Fernando Alonso has come down since the start of the season.
In a Q&A published on Ferrari’s website, Massa said: “I think that this year, the only race where there really was a big difference between me and Fernando was in Australia and then, in Malaysia the rain made it more complicated to get a clear picture.
“Starting in China, the difference in qualifying between the two of us was not so dramatic. Even in Barcelona, but for the traffic, my time in Q2 was in line with previous events and on Sunday my pace was not that far off.
“I think we must also take into account that, at the moment, Fernando’s driving is amazing: he is on super form, maybe even perfect.”
Massa lost time in Spain with a drive-through penalty after the stewards found he had gone too quickly while a yellow flag was out. Massa said: “I am bloody p***ed off.
“Even today, I still struggle to understand the reason for the drive-through and that was the point at which my race was ruined.”
“In Spain we made a significant improvement”
Massa admitted he is still finding the F2012 a handful despite the team’s progress with the car: “It’s definitely not a very easy car to drive and it’s hard to find a good balance.
“Many times I have found myself having to fight the car and, in these circumstances, it’s easy to lose a tenth here and there: with my driving style maybe I struggle a bit more, because I don’t manage to find a smooth way of driving.
“Then, it’s well known that we don’t yet have enough aerodynamic downforce and we are lacking in traction at the exit to slow corners, which could be the biggest problem.
“In Spain, we made a significant improvement, which could clearly be seen from Fernando’s performance in the race, but I too, when I had a clear track ahead of me, had a good pace. We also made a little progress in terms of top speed, another area where we have suffered right from the start of the season.”
Despite having only scored two points to Alonso’s 61, Massa says he still has the support of the team: “Absolutely, yes, I feel the whole team stands by me.
“Obviously, they are not happy with the results and neither am I: we all want is to get out of this and return to normal. It’s possible and for sure it’s what I want and I know that with the team’s help we will manage it.”
He also commented on the ongoing debate over tyres: “Their influence varies from circuit to circuit.
“In Bahrain and Spain we had high degradation and then the tyres played a decisive role, but at others, where degradation is more within the norm, then I think the quickest car in absolute terms will have the upper hand.
“Having said that, clearly those who do the best job of managing the tyres, have the best strategy and make no mistakes, will have the best chance of winning.”
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Image © Ferrari spa/Ercole Colombo
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65) said on 18th May 2012, 18:21
Sadly for him, the gap is still big enough for 12 cars to get between him and Fernando.
Theo said on 18th May 2012, 18:39
Not sure if he’s delusional or got hit in the head again?
Himmat said on 18th May 2012, 19:47
That’s not a nice thing to say.
Txizzle (@txizzle) said on 18th May 2012, 20:27
maybe not nice, but still funny…
rambler said on 19th May 2012, 16:16
Not very objective are you huh
Neel Jani (@neelv27) said on 18th May 2012, 20:15
Well said mate.
If you watch the quali in Spain and excluding his final lap where he came across “traffic”, he was on avg. 0.6 secs slower than Alonso (I have mentioned this earlier as well) and he says they were close?
I really don’t remember a weekend since 2011 where he has been genuinely close to his team mate apart from Canada 2011.
Pamphlet (@pamphlet) said on 18th May 2012, 22:27
China and Bahrain 2012.
Kingshark (@kingshark) said on 19th May 2012, 0:27
China 2011 too.
TommyB (@tommyb89) said on 18th May 2012, 18:28
Qualifying in Spain suggests otherwise.
TommyB (@tommyb89) said on 18th May 2012, 18:29
Also didn’t Alonso lap him during the race?
Antony Butler (@butler_f1) said on 18th May 2012, 18:32
Maybe massa thinks if he can physically see Alonso on track, it means he is closer to him than before.
TommyB (@tommyb89) said on 18th May 2012, 19:04
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Comment of the Day!
BasCB (@bascb) said on 18th May 2012, 19:50
Must be it @butler_f1!
Neel Jani (@neelv27) said on 18th May 2012, 20:19
haha!! Indeed the COTD!
Ciaran (@ciaran) said on 18th May 2012, 18:30
Still getting no sympathy from me. To me, the gap between the two is measured in the thirty-fold difference in points, and that’s so dismal it’s hilarious.
naz3012 (@naz3012) said on 18th May 2012, 18:41
i think it would benefit massa to move to a midfield team, as at the moment he is being well and truly humbled by alonso, i think partly due to alonso being so ridiculously good and partly due to massa’s own doing, but also thanks to ferrari for somewhat “ruining” him in germany last year and it’s doing absolutely nothing for his confidence, morale and self belief. Frankly his ferrari career is over.
I think he’d be a decent mentor to an up and coming driver and could provide a midefield team with plenty of experience and knowledge, as well as giving himself a decent confidence boost from leading a team.
Kingshark (@kingshark) said on 19th May 2012, 0:29
I’m pretty sure Felipe would do a decent job in a midfield team. The pressure would be off him to deliver; like Kubica at Renault 2010.
naz3012 (@naz3012) said on 18th May 2012, 18:48
on a lighter and more banterous note, sniffpetrol.com have come up with an absolute cracker regarding massa.
http://sniffpetrol.com/category/picturenews/
bit harsh, but, couldnt help but laugh…..
TimmyA (@timmya) said on 18th May 2012, 18:50
What is massa smoking? He is no closer to alonso than Ralph Nader is to the presidency
Girts (@girts) said on 18th May 2012, 18:56
So they both are now staying in the same room on the Grand Prix weekends?
While I think that the current competitiveness of the field makes Felipe look worse than he actually is, that doesn’t change the fact that the combination between him and Ferrari just hasn’t worked since Alonso joined the team. There have been a few flashes during this time (unfortunately Ferrari robbed him of the only GP win he really deserved) but far from enough. We’ve been hearing Felipe say I’m-not-that-bad for many times and I truly believe he is a very good driver but he should have admitted that the fairytale’s gone bad and left Ferrari himself already before this season.
Talking about his drive-through penalty at Barcelona, I would also love to hear more detailed explanations from the stewards as for why Massa and Vettel were penalized.
f1alex (@f1alex) said on 18th May 2012, 21:06
I believe the penalties were because they had their DRS open, therefore they were either going faster than on previous laps or possibly attempting an overtake.
Zahir (@zahir) said on 18th May 2012, 18:57
Seeing a driver justify his performances, race by race and compared to his team mate is a sad sight. Reading it felt like Massa was trying to convince himself, not those reading it. There is no doubt that Massa has the ability to be a very good driver as we’ve seen in previous seasons, it just seems like he’s in a very fragile place mentally, and Ferrari is arguably the worst place to be when you’re in this state. With so much focus understandably on Ferrari drivers, it seems a toxic place to be for Massa. If I were him I’d leave Ferrari at the end of the season, although it seems he’s going to get pushed rather than jump, and try do a Kovalainen. Go to a smaller team, get out the headlines and focus on getting back to form
mani517 (@mani517) said on 18th May 2012, 19:01
source: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/99658
Motorsport is a place where statements are political, indirect and often meaningless. I don’t believe that Ferrari aren’t looking for a viable replacement right now for Massa. I bet, if there comes an opportunity that works out as they please, they would replace Massa even now.
I’m sure they don’t want a driver who can push Alonso on the other Ferrari (there are very few in the current grid to do that, and are very unlikely to end up in a Ferrari any time soon), but, I’m also sure they wouldn’t want a driver who is clearly underperforming – well below an average F1 driver’s std. – to just hang around for the sake of their relationship, sympathy, influence or whatever that made them retain Massa for 2012 after his dismal 2011 season (compared to Alonso).
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner) said on 18th May 2012, 19:39
This seems like a fair admission from Massa though I’d have to see his times in qualifying to really see if I agree with him. I fear Monaco may be make or break for Massa for his future with Ferrari. After what Domenicali said the signs of frustration are there from both sides.
Todfod (@todfod) said on 19th May 2012, 13:15
To be honest, even a strong performance in Monaco wont change much for Massa. To retain his seat he would need a serious turnaround of form. Regular top 6 finishes and a few podiums might help him, but then again, on massa’s current form that is asking for way more than he is capable of.
Alehud42 (@alehud42) said on 18th May 2012, 20:07
Average Points per Race:
2010 – ALO: 13.3 MAS: 7.6
2011 – ALO: 13.5 MAS: 6.2
2012 – ALO: 12.2 MAS: 0.4
In fact, they’re getting further and further apart.
lubhz (@lubhz) said on 19th May 2012, 18:52
Ferrari is in a very delicate situation. The results are clear, and it is hard to understand why they didn’t replace him this season. But we might consider a few aspects:
- They have the precise telemetry and can tell if he is just being unlucky or a bad driver
- They have all information and to evaluate if this poor performance is related to the preference they give to Alonso regarding parts upgrades, pit order, etc.
- Fiat is HUGE in Brazil, often the best selling car company. Making hasty decisions and firing the poor Brazilian can be costly.
Mercapecih said on 20th May 2012, 1:26
Bro I don’t think the pit strategy is a problem (they can pit both in the same lap, they have done it)…and I don’t think is the upgrades (they have enough money to upgrade both cars, they have doing experiments in both cars..but the car wasn’t there until Barcelona)…For whatever reason Fernando is/has been a way better driver in that car so far. I think the team has not say anything (change driver) because they are aware of the car problems…the big guys in Maranelo have accepted that it is a car very hard to drive…so I guess you can’t blame Massa. I don’t think is as bad as it looks right now; I think if you put another driver instead of Alonso they’ll be pretty close to each other..I think
Tricky (@tricky) said on 21st May 2012, 12:19
I think Ferrari’s moto is “Ferrari must win”.
As it is, Massa is not adding a useful number of points to the WCC, and if he was closer to Alonso he would be taking points away from Ferrari’s competitors, in Spain if Massa had go ahead of Vettel, Alonso would be leading the WDC on his own.
Erin Ennis said on 18th May 2012, 20:32
In order for Ferrari to be competitive in the Constructor’s championship, they need a #2 driver who can offer in-race support to their #1 (Alonso) while scoring points for the team. Massa has not proven an ability to do that this season. With the Driver’s championship being a solo effort, Alonso is doing very well there himself. As a team, Ferrari are almost 50 points off the lead due to the teams above them being consistently able to finish 2 cars well up in the racing order.
I like Massa on a personal level, but he hasn’t been the same driver since his accident. I’d like to see them take a whack at bringing Sutil in to fill his race seat or orchestrate a swap with Sauber for Perez.
frane said on 18th May 2012, 20:48
hahahahaha very funny!!!!!!!!!!!
f1alex (@f1alex) said on 18th May 2012, 21:09
Yes Felipe, we all believe you, honest!
Tom Bisset (@pianoshizzle) said on 18th May 2012, 21:29
Massa is surely going to become delusional if he doesn’t get out of Ferrari. It’s hurting his career and everyone’s perception of him with these latest comments. He’s obviously not enjoying driving for Ferrari- (apart from the sheer fact that he wears Ferrari overalls and a big cheque which is probably diminishing after every race with his performances).
Why doesn’t he just leave Ferrari (at the end of this season at the latest) and move to a smaller team which has a slightly easier car to drive and will probably make him the team’s No.1 driver due to his experience.
I am in no way a fan of Massa, and think that Ferrari should have dropped him. However, Ferrari won’t because Massa will do anything that they want him to do (i.e. Alonso’s bitch). But to see Massa’s career go down the toilet makes me sad.
Todfod (@todfod) said on 19th May 2012, 13:19
I would question which mid field team would be interested in Massa… and which team on the entire grid (bar HRT) would make Massa their number 1 driver?
I have a feeling that once Massa is dumped by Ferrari, he will retire and become a Ferrari test driver alongside Fisi & Gene
Kingshark (@kingshark) said on 19th May 2012, 18:12
Why not Caterham? By their standards, Massa is a very good driver.
Solo (@solo) said on 20th May 2012, 13:25
No his not. I bet Petrov and Kovalanien would have done better in the second Ferrari.