Felipe Massa's future

[Crucial_Xtreme]

I think that if Felipe hasn't regained any form by the end of the Monaco, he should hand his resignation to Montezemolo himself. I am assuming that the team will have improved the car a few tenths to where it's at least at the head of the midfield.

Unfortunately it seems that Felipe is not the same pilot since his accident. I know the doctors have cleared him, but maybe there's some underlying depth perception issue, or a confidence issue. Or maybe it's just the thought of his family & death in the back of his mind. But I think it's pretty clear he isn't the same. I read an article in Jan where his doctor said this year he should be fully back 100% no doubts.
I like Felipe, I wish him well. I wish that the team improves the car & him & Fernando fight for top positions. But I fear it won't happen. And if he doesn't improve, like I said he should retire. It would be a disgrace for him to go to anything other than a top team. I personally think if he left this season for good, he wouldn't lose any respect. But if he goes to a smaller team and struggles, he ruins what many think of him.

[jamsbong]

If i were domenicali i would replace him with Sutil for the rest of the season then bring in Perez for 2013.

Why can't Ferrari have Perez immediately? I mean contracts can be re-negotiated, bought-out and so on. Ferrari manage to get Fisichella mid year. In WRC, Citroen team often swap drivers from the junior team to the main team and vice versa.

[Maelstrom]

If i were domenicali i would replace him with Sutil for the rest of the season then bring in Perez for 2013.

Why can't Ferrari have Perez immediately? I mean contracts can be re-negotiated, bought-out and so on. Ferrari manage to get Fisichella mid year. In WRC, Citroen team often swap drivers from the junior team to the main team and vice versa.

What makes you think Perez would do any better than Massa? The car is terrible and Alonso's victory is all due to him being one of the best drivers on the grid. You think Massa is bad because you are comparing him to Alonso but that's hardly a good idea. If Ferrari gives him a decent car and he still struggles then he should quit.

[jamsbong]

It is hard to compare without given opportunity. With the lack of testing, teams rely on sims to do a lot of things. Perez can easily jump in and demonstrate his ability to Ferrari on a sim. If that holds well, they can do a friday test.
Yes, i do think Massa is crap. Especially this year, he has gone progressively worse than previous years. Last year excuse was the new tires, this year excuse is the bad car. Alonso is good but not a god or magician. In his renault days, he was always ahead of his teammate but by a small margin even when the car was uncompetitive. Same situation now, car uncompetitive, but Massa is way off.
I'm not saying Perez is amazing, but certainly way way better than the current Massa. The way Ferrari is able to get rid of Kimi so quickly, somehow, they cant get rid of Massa is always a mystery.

[Lycoming]

Ferrari and Alonso have stated that they fully support Massa (...well, as much as you can support a driver who you asked to give his victory to his teammate) and Sauber/Perez have been quite steadfast in saying that he will see out the year with the team and that they are not considering such a move now.

Honestly, I think Ferrari do want to see Massa strong... I don't think they've forgotten 2008, when they briefly experienced the joy of being double world champions for the second year running (Until Hamilton overtook Glock, that is). I think they've made it clear that they're in no hurry to get rid of him, even with the press calling for it.

Perez is certainly the favorite to take Massa's seat, but I think its pretty clear that everybody intends to keep things as they are for this season. Ferrari are not ones to take young drivers; if anything, Malaysia showed that Perez still has a way to go in terms of maturity before I believe Ferrari will be ready to take him, though that could very well be in time for 2013.

[jamsbong]

I thought Massa was taken up by Ferrari from Sauber at a very early stage of his career.

[elFranZ]

Livio Oricchio on Estadao of Sao Paulo (brazilian sport news): "...Massa has become a tester. Private tests being banned, Felipe tried new solutions and new components in the first two races. And in some of these tests there was so little downforce that you can easily explain his difficul drive".

sorry, but.. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! no seriously, is this guy even supposed to be a journalist?

[bhall]

You know, that doesn't seem very far-fetched to me. It may not be true, but I think it's definitely plausible.

[elFranZ]

To me it's not even far from being plausible.
Why?
Well, you know, technical reasons. IF the car has a rear downforce problem, than you are supposed to test something to increase the thing, right? And if it doesn't work, you (pilot) are able to say "no, the thing's not working", right?
I'm tired of brazilians. Last 10 years spent hearing first Barrichello, then Massa making "the poor guy" song are well enough for me.
Take Irvine. He never talked s**t, he is actually the only one saying "we had a dog of a car at that time, and Michael won 3 races, while I couldn't drive".

Since 2009, Massa is a former F1 driver to me.

[grano123]

Don't you think a swap with Perez would be even more demoralizing for Massa?

Anyway, I think so much pressure and attention directed towards him by the press right now is maybe a little unjustified seeing as its the second race of the season. Lots of drivers have ups and downs. Ferrari said last year he has this year to prove he deserves the seat, so lets give him his chance to do it.

I agree regards the demoralizing effect. My take is that if Ferrari put him on the bench, he will most likely take his severance pay and spend the balance of the year relaxing and deciding does he want to continue in F1 or not.

If he does, of course the question remains....with whom?

[Goran2812]

Just looked at the WDC table... of all the drivers, and all the teams, (not counting the 3 last teams-Caterham,Marussia and HRT), Felipe is the only driver that hasn't scored one single point this season... EVERYONE else did...

[Maelstrom]

Just looked at the WDC table... of all the drivers, and all the teams, (not counting the 3 last teams-Caterham,Marussia and HRT), Felipe is the only driver that hasn't scored one single point this season... EVERYONE else did...

Actually the HRT's, Marussia's & Carterham haven't either... but I get your point. Felippe is underperforming.

[Websta]

He drove a decent race today, only 5 seconds behind Alonso

[Maelstrom]

He drove a decent race today, only 5 seconds behind Alonso

Difference is that Alonso was in the points.

[kris]

He drove a decent race today, only 5 seconds behind Alonso

A decent race yes, considering the car is not one of the best. But it never seemed he was showing us the racer he was, hence the disappointment.