Massa “not interested” in making up the numbers

2013 Korean Grand Prix

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Felipe Massa says he is only interested in driving for a team that can be competitive in 2014.

Massa, who will be replaced at Ferrari by Kimi Raikkonen next year, says his management has “talked with a few teams” about a drive in 2014.

“For the moment we I think some good opportunities,” he said during the Korean Grand Prix press conference. “It’s better to wait and say in the right time.”

Massa added he is “quite optimistic we’re going to find a good arrangement, a good solution” for 2014.

“As I said I’ve not changed my mind, I want to have a car that can give me some good possibilities to fight, not a car that I will not have a chance to fight. So if I have that I’m not interested.”

The seat left vacant by Raikkonen at Lotus appears to be Massa’s best chance of landing a seat with a front-running team next year.

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    Keith Collantine
    Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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    36 comments on “Massa “not interested” in making up the numbers”

    1. MB (@muralibhats)
      3rd October 2013, 8:29

      Much like this year. He has not made up much numbers this season.

    2. welcome to the driver market musical chairs.

    3. History is on Felipe’s side for finding another seat. There hasn’t been a full season Ferrari driver who has finished their F1 career since 1982 when both Didier Pironi and Gilles Villeneuve failed to finish the season because of Didier’s injury and Gilles’ death. The last driver to RETIRE from F1 with Ferrari is even further back in 1979 with Jody Scheckter.

      1. @crackers

        History is on Felipe’s side for finding another seat. There hasn’t been a full season Ferrari driver who has finished their F1 career since 1982 when both Didier Pironi and Gilles Villeneuve failed to finish the season because of Didier’s injury and Gilles’ death. The last driver to RETIRE from F1 with Ferrari is even further back in 1979 with Jody Scheckter.

        Well, at least Felipe will have another moment in history… He was the shortest time champion in F1 history I believe, (less than 30 seconds) and now, he is going to follow suit with Schekter! LOL!!!

        1. maarten.f1 (@)
          3rd October 2013, 15:18

          Actually, he’s never been champion at all; not even for 30 seconds. He may have thought or assumed he was, but as not all contenders had finished yet, the race was still going.

          1. @karter22 @maarten-f1

            he’s never been champion at all; not even for 30 seconds

            Indeed. Just because Ferrari are seemingly incapable of putting out a press release without making that spurious claim doesn’t make it true.

            1. @maarten-f1 , @keithcollantine

              Indeed. Just because Ferrari are seemingly incapable of putting out a press release without making that spurious claim doesn’t make it true.

              Geeeez…. Ok, so you guys are right but you know what I meant. He would´ve been champion and in my book he was for about 30 seconds. No need to be anal about it! So it wasn´t official but most thought he was until LH got past Glock…. No need to bash Ferrari for my mistake Keith!

      2. Michael Schumacher? :-)

        1. I think MS has raced an F1 car since Ferrari…

          1. @cyclonetog – That was his twin. Luca can back me up on that one.

    4. Massa might only be interested in driving for a competitive team, but he had two problems: first, that no team is going to be interested in him unless he is competitive; and two, most of the competitive teams already have their drivers in place.

      1. I guess its a question of how you define “competative” @prisoner-monkeys. If Massa means to say that he would be ok in Williams, FI, Sauber to get regular points and if everything goes well a lucky podium, then there is a chance he will be in the running (Lotus is the only one he could be getting a better car, I guess)

        1. On his interview for a Brazilian TV chanel, he basically said that there are two teams they’re looking at: Lotus and McLaren… all I can tell him is good luck.

    5. “For the moment we I think some good opportunities,”

      Who is Massa trying to kid? There isn’t a single top tier team or midfield team that would want Massa.

      Force India has 2 better drivers
      Toro Rosso only take youngsters and red bull aspirants
      Sauber also prefers younger drivers or Pay drivers
      Williams need Pastor for the money and Valleteri for the future
      Lotus would be stupid to even think of Massa as a replacement for Kimi, especially when the Hulk is on the market
      Mclaren aren’t interested in underperformers

      That leaves Massa with a slim chance of Caterham or Marrussia

      1. MB (@muralibhats)
        3rd October 2013, 11:46

        Just that he couldn’t perform in a Ferrari doesn’t mean he is worse than PDR! Massa brings Money too and that would make Sauber interested. As with Lotus, I agree they should hire Hulk.

        1. I’m not saying he is worse than PDR. But how many sub par drivers do we have in midfield or top tier teams?

      2. The only reason one the higher teams would even consider him is because of a good sponsorship package. If he didn’t have that and just had to sell his speed, like Hulkenberg, then he wouldn’t even be given a second thought by them.

      3. Plus Boullier said he’s looking for talent, not money.

    6. Dont know why Massa is set on drving for a team that will give him the opportunity to win. He has had the opportunity to win or even challenge for podiums with Ferrari the past 3 seasons and hasn’t delivered, why would it be any different next year? I dont see any decent teams (McLaren, Lotus, FI) even looking his direction.

    7. I think I’ve heard this story before. Next year he races a car with the earths surface painted onto it.

      1. Honda is back with Earth Livery?

    8. As I said I’ve not changed my mind, I want to have a car that can give me some good possibilities to fight, not a car that I will not have a chance to fight. So if I have that I’m not interested.

      So that would mean a straight-swop to Lotus or a possible seat at Sauber. Anything else looks a lot like “making up the numbers”.

    9. Sounds a bit ungrateful to me. He’s had probably two more seasons with Ferarri than he deserved, seasons in which Alonso has mounted a serious title challenge and Felipe has been absolutely nowhere. He was very lucky to have his contract extended for the last two years, so to think that he can walk into another 3rd or 4th place team feels like he’s living on a different planet. He needs to prove that he is a competitive and fast driver, and invest some of his reputation in a car that will allow him to “over drive” it and prove his many doubters that he is still one of the best.

    10. I really wish Massa had moved to Williams in 2012. The end of 2011 saw debate about whether he would leave and I was hoping he would replace Barachello maybe. Granted he probably would take a giant pay cut, but in that car in place of Bruno Senna… just imagine what that team could have achieved. I’m not implying Massa would have fought for a top 3 finish that year overall, but the car had real pace; and I think a fresh, largely pressureless new work environment could have really revitalised him and his results.

    11. Massa “not interested” in making up the numbers

      Felipe that’s exactly what you have been doing for a number of years now.

    12. Those who believe that in F1 a is signed PURELY and EXCLUSIVELY based on driving skills are delusional. Massa stayed in Ferrari for such a long time because for several seasons he delivered results, but ALSO because Brazil is one of Fiat’s main markets in the whole world, and later on because Brazil was BY FAR Santander’s main income source (at one point, good part of the state-owned companies in Brazil worked exclusively with Santander, until the deal rot away). In the last two seasons, Ferrari even put some pressure on top of the brazilian tv network that owns the rights to transmit the F1 season, and Lotus is doing right now. Obviously, we will need to see what plans Renault has for Brazil, and then we will understand if Massa sign with Lotus or not (this was why Gohsn went to Brazil to sign Piquet Jr, in first place…). So please let’s stop with all this “X is MUCH better than Massa” or whatever. There are other thing at play here, too.
      I would like to see Felipe in F1 outside the Ferrari environment, and I truly believe his experience could be important for Lotus at this point.

    13. I think it’s not the right attitude. Massa should be prepared to go to any team, even Marussia or Caterham. Everyone wants to drive for a top team but the fact is that Massa has four poor years behind him and now it’s him who needs to prove that he still can belongs in F1.

      There are many drivers, who have won races and even been in title hunt after leaving top teams and joining relatively poor teams. For instance, Damon Hill scored a podium for Arrows and won a race for Jordan after winning the 1996 championship at Williams. Rubens Barrichello even came close to winning the 2009 title after being in Schumacher’s shadow for six years and a tough time at Honda for three years.

      Massa is only 32 now so he still has enough time to turn his career around. But it might take some humility to do that.

      1. @girts

        Massa is only 32 now so he still has enough time to turn his career around. But it might take some humility to do that.

        I’m not so sure he does have enough time. Considering Sergey Sirotkin is looking feasible for a drive at Sauber next year – at the grand old age of 18 – the favoured position is moving increasingly towards younger drivers who can be moulded and developed.

    14. So like Ferrari, then? You excelled yourself there, mate.

    15. To be fair to Massa he’s probably been around where the Ferrari has deserved to be for the last couple of years. His biggest problem is probably that Alonso is a phenomenal driver who has dragged an armpit of a car around to challenge for titles.
      ALO v RAI is going to be fascinating and if Massa does land a worthwhile drive it’ll be interesting to see if he get closer to, or further away from Alonso with a different team.
      One thing is for sure though, he’s going to have to race for free, or close to it. That may push him in Lotus’ direction.

      1. Alonso has done well, but come on, Massa has underperformed his machinery over the last three years. A top driver like Alonso, Hamilton or Vettel would have been winning races or at least regularly on the podium in the F10, F150, F2012 and F138. Massa’s achieved no wins (though he could’ve had 1 in 2010), and only 8 podiums (over half of those in 2010 alone), which is simply not good enough for a team that has clearly been in the top three for the last four years.

    16. He’s already making up the numbers in my opinion.

    17. In 2009 Massa suffered a serious head injury from debris, due to a structural failure, that had fallen from a preceding racing car. He has a titanium plate in his head. In my opinion he didn’t recover 100% and that lack of total recovery hindered him. In 1999 I came home from work, went to sleep, and woke-up 12 days later when I emerged from a meningitis-induced coma. I lose my balance now just trying to pick a piece of paper off the floor and I now use a W/C to aid mobility_not a 100% recovery though for me. Seems like a similar situation.

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