Felipe Massa - Robbed of his Prime?

[SectorOne]

come on ,you would say an obvious strike of luck would make a world champion material drivver an also ran? Alonsos efforts are no better or worse having actually snatched the title.
Some drivers never won a title but were without a doubt a match for anyone -Gilles Villeneuve,Ronnie Peterson ,Carlos Reutemann ,Carlos Pace ,Tony Brise ,Stefan Bellof to name a few

I think winning the title certainly adds more to the effort because it means you did enough to secure it.
I´d probably not consider Massa when discussing all-time greats without a title

He drive great in 08 no doubt about it but i think it´s unfair to the guy who won it to say it was all down to just the last corner when in reality it was the whole season that decided the winner.

[marcush.]

to get as close to a championship is deserving respect it´s not like he owed it all to superior machinery ,the Ferrari of that year was competitive but not the class of the field.
but it´s academic really you have your view others have different perception.

[SectorOne]

to get as close to a championship is deserving respect it´s not like he owed it all to superior machinery ,the Ferrari of that year was competitive but not the class of the field.
but it´s academic really you have your view others have different perception.

Agreed, and just to be clear, i think he did an immense job in 2008, no doubt about it.

I just think that 08 was out of the ordinary rather then the ordinary when it comes to Massa.

[Helios]

Is funny how at the end of last season and in some race this year, Massa was back on form for some people, now is back to he is injured. Massa has never been a top driver, a good one with moments of brillance?, yes.

simply not true.Hamiltons WDC was only possible because of Glock overtaking in the last corner of the last race -so really it was not Hamilton beating Massa but circumstances denying Massa a championship....we would see now Hamilton without a title and not Massa.

But this is not the whole story.

Before the rain came, Hamilton was in a comfortable 4th place, with Vettel right behind him and Glock some 20 secs away. The only reason why everything got so close at the end was the rain falling a few laps before the end, without this, it would've been an easy last race for Hamilton. Hamilton was on the edge of losing the title in the unluckiest way possible, through no fault of his own but at the end McLaren's strategy paid off.

[marcush.]

so let´s conclude Massa is not the same after his accident or the competition has stepped up considerably in recent times.

[myurr]

Is funny how at the end of last season and in some race this year, Massa was back on form for some people, now is back to he is injured. Massa has never been a top driver, a good one with moments of brillance?, yes.

simply not true.Hamiltons WDC was only possible because of Glock overtaking in the last corner of the last race -so really it was not Hamilton beating Massa but circumstances denying Massa a championship....we would see now Hamilton without a title and not Massa.
I cannot imagine any driver winning a formula 1 championship not being world class..Even Damon Hill was on his day.

If, but, etc. Lest we forget all the other incidents that year, just because something happens in the last race doesn't make it any more influential on the overall result. How about all the points Massa inherited because of the dodgy stewarding in Spa when they took the win away from Hamilton. Or what about the points Massa would have had had they not had the fuel rig issues in Singapore. Etc. etc.

Massa put up a great fight that year in what was arguably an ever so slightly better car than the McLaren, but ultimately he failed to win. That simple outcome actually seems to have had as much of an influence on him as a driver as his injury, but regardless of the cause clearly the guy isn't driving at the level he was in 2008.

[SectorOne]

Or his injury has no impact on anything and instead it´s his inconsistency, the new regulations coupled with sub-par cars that is the problem.

(to Marcus)

[donskar]

There is no need or reason to belittle Massa. He has achieved far more than most drivers who have competed in F1. He won many races, contended for the WDC, earned a drive in a top team -- did not buy his drive. He suffered a very serious injury and none of us can imagine or guess its total effect on him. And after the injury he remained a competent F1 driver. His time is past; he should be replaced, but not scorned.

[sennafan24]

There is no need or reason to belittle Massa. He has achieved far more than most drivers who have competed in F1. He won many races, contended for the WDC, earned a drive in a top team -- did not buy his drive. He suffered a very serious injury and none of us can imagine or guess its total effect on him. And after the injury he remained a competent F1 driver. His time is past; he should be replaced, but not scorned.

Could not agree more

[sennafan24]

so let´s conclude Massa is not the same after his accident or the competition has stepped up considerably in recent times.

Yep, but I think its more the former than the latter.

[strad]

Not buyin it at all.
He just was not destined for anything better.
He's lucky to have hung on for this long...Better have seen the door in F1 a lot quicker, and with a lot less reason.

[marcush.]

Not buyin it at all.
He just was not destined for anything better.
He's lucky to have hung on for this long...Better have seen the door in F1 a lot quicker, and with a lot less reason.

so what to do with Sutil ,di Resta,Vergne,Buemi,Grosjean then? drown them in deep water with concrete filled buckets mated to their feet? The guy has shown true potential in formula 1 if you cannot acknowledge this ,hopefully god will help you when serious things need to be detected in your life...

[SectorOne]

Sutil, Vergne, di Resta, Buemi etc are FAR better drivers then Massa.
Anyone of them would give Alonso a hard time (maybe Vergne not so much in Quali but definitely the race)
It´s not even in the same dimension.

"The guy has shown true potential in formula 1 if you cannot acknowledge this"

Emphasis on has.

[sennafan24]

Not buyin it at all.
He just was not destined for anything better.
He's lucky to have hung on for this long...Better have seen the door in F1 a lot quicker, and with a lot less reason.

so what to do with Sutil ,di Resta,Vergne,Buemi,Grosjean then? drown them in deep water with concrete filled buckets mated to their feet? The guy has shown true potential in formula 1 if you cannot acknowledge this ,hopefully god will help you when serious things need to be detected in your life...

Agreed.

He showed more than potential in 2007-2009, based on him outscoring Kimi in those years, you could argue he was in the elite of the grid during that time. I can only think of Lewis, Alonso and Kimi who were better than him during that period.

Even as Lewis fan, I felt a bit bad for Massa on the top step of the podium at Brazil 2008.

[sennafan24]

"The guy has shown true potential in formula 1 if you cannot acknowledge this"

Emphasis on has.

I think Marcrush is just highlighting the harsh way in which people are dismissing Massa. If it was the injury that stopped his progression which I believe it was, you cannot blame him. A bit of empathy would not go a miss.