F1 Fanatic

@mazdachris Very good arguments.

I just think that the case of Massa proves that it’s not always about the pressure. I believe Massa had to stand a lot of pressure in 2008 when fighting against Hamilton and Raikkonen for the title so there must be another reason why he hasn’t be able to perform at the same level since 2010.

Things in F1 quite often don’t evolve the way people have expected them to. In 2008, how many did think that Button would outperform Hamilton as his team mate three years later? For sure, you are right that Rosberg is the most logical pick today. Bookies would most probably agree with you. But different scenarios are possible, too.

@Girts No, you’re right, Massa’s dip in performance is down to more than just the pressure of being a Ferrari driver and the expectation of fighting for victory. There are lots of factors at play. One which hardly ever gets mentioned has been the transition between different manufacturers of tyres, and going from the grooved to the slick control tyres. I’ve seen it said that Massa’s style of taking a lot of braking into the corner apex worked really well on the older Bridgestones which had soft sidewalls, but not to well on the stiffer control tyres. A technique he learned while serving as understudy to Schumacher, and something Schumacher seems to struggle with as well.

But crucially the biggest issue for Massa I think is his teammate. Alonso has been absolutely dominant, not just in terms of the performances he’s been putting in which Massa has struggled to match, but also in the way Alonso has managed to get the team fully behind him. That’s something he never had to worry about with Raikkonen, who just wanted to turn up and drive the car every other Sunday. It has created a situation where Massa no longer has the full backing and support of the team, which has put a focus on his driving like never before. The benchmark he’s being measured against is close to perfection, which has left him in an impossible position.

I honestly feel that Massa, in another top team, with a bit of friendly encouragement, could well get back to his previous best, and could still be a contender. I don’t think there’s any way he could possibly do it in Ferrari, unfortunately. Not while Alonso is there. Alonso has well and truly broken him, and I think he’d do that to pretty much anyone who was his teammate. Even if Schumacher returned to Ferrari, I think Alonso would still be the number one. Not because they’ve nominated him to be number one, or anything silly like that, but because he’s shown a level of dedication and delivered a level of performance to back up all of the effort they’ve put into backing him.

Anyway, that’s getting off topic a little. As I say, this year could well be the year for Rosberg, especially while the championship is wide open. Personally, I think this championship will be a fight between Vettel and Alonso, but as you say, it wouldn’t take an enormous shift in the order of things to throw it open to a new champion. That’s what is making this year so exciting.

@mazdachris yeah Massa still has a final chance, come’on he’s still young. I remember Button’s times in BAR, then Honda and nobody would have bet he would reborn in a new team. The very same Barrichello won a couple of races without the loom of Schu. Massa needs equal treatment and a nice enveironment, none of these in his Ferrari days. If it’s already over for him in Ferrari next year, it can be possibly the best news for him so far. Of course Honda is not Ferrari but Ross Brawn trasnformed ashes in gold. I’d like to see Massa in a Lotus or a Williams.

The strength of the recent history frontrunners is so high up that it is indeed difficult to see the order usurped for a fair bit, I agree.

Yeah, the RA107 and RA108 were horrendous. They were designed by Shuhei Nakamoto, who was best-known at the time for developing Honda’s MotoGP bikes. Honda promoted him because they wanted their race- and championship-winning cars to be designed by a Japanese national.

There were also serious problems within the team. They had separated from sponsor Lucky Strike, and on the back of Button’s first win and very successful 2006 season, they should have been the first port of call for any sposnor looking to get involved in Formula 1. But they never got a single sponsor, and instead pinned all their hopes on the Earth Car concept.

@matt90 Hubris, isn’t it. I think most manufacturers don’t really understand F1. They see the smaller teams competing in the midfield on comparatively small budgets and think that with all their resources that they should be able to beat them easily. Unfortunately they learn very quickly that F1 is not a problem which can be solved by throwing more and more money at it. The knowledge and expertise required to be halfway competitive are so specialised that it’s almost impossible to find anyone outside of F1 who would be any use at it. Let’s face it, most manufacturers just think of F1 as a good PR opportunity, and go into it with frankly no idea what they’re getting themselves into. It’s not to say that none do, and ironically the remnants of what was once the struggling Honda team now have a manufacturer backer who seem to understand the game and are prepared to put in place everything they need to be able to compete. But it has come at the expense of being able to use their own personnel. Effectively they just have a well designed F1 car paid for with their money, with their badge on its nose. But it certainly wasn’t built by Mercedes!

I wouldn’t say it was hubris. I think Honda failed for the same reasons as Toyota, but in much more spectacular fashion. Both manufacturers tried to run the teams out of executive boardrooms in Tokyo, and the problem with that is that executives tend to come to comrpromises so that everyone gets what they want – but these decisions aren’t necessarily the best for the team. Case in point, Shuei Nakamoto. The team wanted someone who could develop race-winning cars. Honda wanted a Japanese national heading up the design team. So in the end, they compromised, and picked the wrong man for the job.

I have a feeling that Rosberg might get beaten by either a Di Resta or Perez if they are his teammates.

Nah, Di Resta is overhyped. Don’t get me wrong, he’s good, but not as good as the BBC team are trying to make out of him. Sutil convincingly beat Di Resta in the second half of 2011 when he was motivated to keep his seat. I know it was only his rookie season, but still, he was dominated by Sutil Suzuka-onwards. I certainly rate Rosberg quite a bit higher than Sutil. I wouldn’t be surprised if Paul became a #2 driver if he moves to Mercedes next season.

Perez, I’m unsure. He’s likely moving to Ferrari in some years time, and predict that he has a bright future ahead of him. We’ll have to wait and see.