What will Massa do after 2010?

[mx_tifoso]

What will Felipe Massa do after his contract expires at the end of 2010? This question has crossed my mind quite a few times lately.

Will his contract be extended for at least one more year or until he retires? Will he race for another team? Back to Sauber?

It would be extremely uncomfortable for him if after all of the warmth and love Ferrari have shown him they didn't extend the contract for at least 2011. But he isn't a 'Michael Schumacher' and expect to stay with the team for a decade or in other positions/departments aside from F1 racing. Although if Coulthard stayed on as advisor/demo driver than Massa can certainly do the same.

Although next year will be very important for him, as it will be a full season after the suprising '09 events and Ferrari will hopefully be competitive. And a championship would be rather nice leverage for his contract negotiations, also to be considered is that since 2006 his WDC standings have only gotten better...

I know it's still 2009 but the future must always be in sight, and the drivers market is pretty interesting.

And with Ferrari continuing their young driver development program that was started in '08, one can only wonder what will happen with the current drivers and who may possibly replace them (in Formula One as a whole too). Finally a Mexican back on the grid after many years of absence?

Your respectful and insightful opinions are more than welcome...

[gibells]

I like Felipe. He has a youthful enthusiasm which is great to see, and I think is unique at Ferrari. However, I'm going to say the whole Santander/Alonso thing sparks a caution in my mind. He's going to surprise Alonso with his pace, that is for sure. And I think that is the problem. I can see Alonso getting in with the management to try and bring in some supposed fresh young talent, and to that end I think Massa will look for another drive, and I think the best shout would be Mercedes.

[Fil]

This topic is just begging for all our personal 'what-ifs'
ESPImperium is made for this topic, but i'll try to better his logic!


I feel that Massa, in Ferrari's eyes, is what Webber is to Red Bull. A quick driver that the team likes, but ultimately they rate their other new driver higher.

Where does that leave Massa?
Well i think Red Bull won't keep Mark beyond 2010.
I don't think Massa will be kept at Ferrari if a better driver is available.

And there lies the question, what options are there for Ferrari in 2011?

My educated guess is Kubica is on a 1yr contract with Renault..
He is my next logical choice for Ferrari.

Red Bull will inevitably lose Vettel to Mercedes, Webber is gone.. Massa could slot into RB together with Alguesuari or Buemi.. :^o

[Giblet]

Most importantly who can replace his speed and passion in Ferrari.

I look at the list, and aside from Nico and Lewis who are pretty much dug in at their teams nobody stands out like Alonso did.

Kubica?

If Alonso and Massa are able to push each other and all the toys keep from being thrown, it would be silly to look elsewhere.

[CMSMJ1]

I rate Massa far higher than Kubica. He has proven he can get the job done and has some very good pace.

He is still relatively young so why not an extension at the Scuderia?

[WhiteBlue]

Alonso is making huge efforts to entice the work force at Ferrari. But is it good enough to dominate Massa next year? Everyone thought he would be beaten by Reikkonen easily which wasn't the case. Before I speculate who will get his seat I want to see a clear Alonso domination over him without back stabbing politics at Ferrari.

[ISLAMATRON]

I rate Massa far higher than Kubica. He has proven he can get the job done and has some very good pace.

He is still relatively young so why not an extension at the Scuderia?

Kubica is ---, there are at least 5 drivers on the grid better than him and Heidfeld in one of them.

Here is my far flung idea of what will go down, Massa will show well against Alonso in 2010, it might be even as close as Macca in '07, but still Massa will be shown the door. Button will get dominated by Hamilton and ask to get out of his contract so he can go to Williams , Massa will head to McLaren, he will do better than Button but still be second to Hamilton

or Vettle will go to MercGP and Massa will partner Webbo at RBR, most probable.

[tadzio89]

Kubica is ---, there are at least 5 drivers on the grid better than him and Heidfeld in one of them.

Prove it.

[Timomies]

Sign with another team


Ferrari will take Jules Bianchi next to Fernando 2011, for sure.

[segedunum]

Prove it.

Kubica has been outscored by Heidfeld over their three seasons together, and Kubica simply doesn't have a string of race wins or a championship to offset that against.

[segedunum]

Alonso is making huge efforts to entice the work force at Ferrari. But is it good enough to dominate Massa next year? Everyone thought he would be beaten by Reikkonen easily which wasn't the case.

Well, Raikkonen did beat Massa because he's the one with the World Championship, but no, he didn't blow Massa away as expected.

The political battle at Ferrari will be key, as that will determine where the development weight goes. I think it's fair to say that Massa pulled more towards him in the team than Raikkonen did, and that's ultimately why he got the front suspension in 2008 that he liked and Raikkonen didn't. You'd expect nothing less from someone who is friends with Michael Schumacher, and with Schumacher giving Massa guidance and calling on favours then that's going to be a problem for Alonso. Alonso will have to turn up in February and drive a car that for several years has been developed in the way that Massa likes.

While he is certainly quick enough to cause Alonso problems, what doesn't sit well with me is that Massa is a nearly man. His speed sometimes clouds peoples' impressions of what Raikkonen achieved at Ferrari and that somehow Massa was as good, if not better. Massa went head-to-head with Raikkonen, Alonso and Hamilton in 2007 and very much came out fourth best. He had everything going for him in 2008 and still couldn't get a grip on the championship.

[tadzio89]

2009

13 Nick Heidfeld German BMW Sauber 19
14 Robert Kubica Polish BMW Sauber 17

2008

4 Robert Kubica Polish BMW Sauber 75
6 Nick Heidfeld German BMW Sauber 60

2007

5 Nick Heidfeld German BMW 61
6 Robert Kubica Polish BMW 39

140 vs 131 for Heidfeld. it isn't big disadvantage and German team favoured Nick. In the middle of 2008 Kubica leaded table, but team didn't give him chance to fight for a title. I think he's constant driver. Why Heidfeld doesn't have any offers yet?

[vall]

Why Heidfeld doesn't have any offers yet?

IMO, because he is not the kind of driver that will lead the team to grab WCs. And obviously he is not well rated as development driver to be interesting for the new teams.

[ISLAMATRON]

Why Heidfeld doesn't have any offers yet?

IMO, because he is not the kind of driver that will lead the team to grab WCs. And obviously he is not well rated as development driver to be interesting for the new teams.

And also he may be smart enough to not sign for a team about to fall apart and on 2 years probation. Plus he may have more and better options to consider.

[ISLAMATRON]

Alonso is making huge efforts to entice the work force at Ferrari. But is it good enough to dominate Massa next year? Everyone thought he would be beaten by Reikkonen easily which wasn't the case.

Well, Raikkonen did beat Massa because he's the one with the World Championship, but no, he didn't blow Massa away as expected.

You seem to forget the times when Massa moved over and "let Kimi by" giving him more "points" to help him win the WCC... no doubt Kimi returned the favor the next year but the results were slightly different. Massa was better than Kimi, absolutely no doubt, he made less mistakes but had more bad luck.