Massa drove like his brother - Monte speaks
Discussion
I am sure this will do allot for Massa's already dented confidence. Giving him a score of -7 seems a bit harsh even for Pistonheads standards.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/88690
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/88690
I like Massa as a driver and an individual but he was clearly driving below par at the beginning of the season, doubtless as a legacy of his near death experience last year. A naturally emotional driver, he needed a confidence boost which he had a grasp of in Germany but was denied him by the team. The moment that call came through from Rob Smedley was the precise moment Massa realised that we would never be a Ferrari champion and would never win a race for Ferrari if it was possible for Alonso to do so.
20 plus years of dedication and development to find the best you are likely to achieve is the best number 2 in F1. That's going to dent the confidence.
In my view, this was the massive own-goal that cost Ferrari the championship, not the covering off the wrong car in Abu Dhabi.
Had they let Alonso and Massa slug it out in Germany, even if Alonso won, it would have put a few extra logs on Massa's fire and I've no doubt, he would have pushed Alonso further and taken more points off rival teams and drivers than he was able to do.
20 plus years of dedication and development to find the best you are likely to achieve is the best number 2 in F1. That's going to dent the confidence.
In my view, this was the massive own-goal that cost Ferrari the championship, not the covering off the wrong car in Abu Dhabi.
Had they let Alonso and Massa slug it out in Germany, even if Alonso won, it would have put a few extra logs on Massa's fire and I've no doubt, he would have pushed Alonso further and taken more points off rival teams and drivers than he was able to do.
StevieBee said:
I like Massa as a driver and an individual but he was clearly driving below par at the beginning of the season, doubtless as a legacy of his near death experience last year. A naturally emotional driver, he needed a confidence boost which he had a grasp of in Germany but was denied him by the team. The moment that call came through from Rob Smedley was the precise moment Massa realised that we would never be a Ferrari champion and would never win a race for Ferrari if it was possible for Alonso to do so.
20 plus years of dedication and development to find the best you are likely to achieve is the best number 2 in F1. That's going to dent the confidence.
In my view, this was the massive own-goal that cost Ferrari the championship, not the covering off the wrong car in Abu Dhabi.
Had they let Alonso and Massa slug it out in Germany, even if Alonso won, it would have put a few extra logs on Massa's fire and I've no doubt, he would have pushed Alonso further and taken more points off rival teams and drivers than he was able to do.
The thing is IMO Alonso needed that "dominance" over Massa and that achieving that is what allowed him to string together such and impressive second half of the season.20 plus years of dedication and development to find the best you are likely to achieve is the best number 2 in F1. That's going to dent the confidence.
In my view, this was the massive own-goal that cost Ferrari the championship, not the covering off the wrong car in Abu Dhabi.
Had they let Alonso and Massa slug it out in Germany, even if Alonso won, it would have put a few extra logs on Massa's fire and I've no doubt, he would have pushed Alonso further and taken more points off rival teams and drivers than he was able to do.
VladD said:
Stating that Masasa didn't win a race is a bit harsh considering that he was leading one and got told to let Alonso past.
+1+ Just read that on Autoprat and thought that Mrs Monte must be making a Chrismas pudding and Mr Monte has been sipping a bit to much Marsala.
What an a
hole!I think what Monte said is the Italian equivalent to a P45.
Edited by Alfie Noakes on Tuesday 14th December 15:11
VladD said:
Stating that Masasa didn't win a race is a bit harsh considering that he was leading one and got told to let Alonso past.
That is quite absurd to vilify him for not winning a race, but telling him to move over the one time he did have a chance to win. Maybe we'll be seeing Hulkenberg there soon? Test driver? He has the same manager as Schumi had so he will be familiar with Ferrari.
It did seem at times like Massa was phoning it in - I'd guess the crash may have affected him in some ways - he has a family and enough money to never need to work again if he really wanted to. Add in the orders to let Alonso by and you can see why he'd quickly lose interest.
Biggest surprise to me was that he's staying on next year, if he doesn't get back in the fight I can see him retiring in the next season or two.
Biggest surprise to me was that he's staying on next year, if he doesn't get back in the fight I can see him retiring in the next season or two.
I don't like it when team principals say or do stupid things that will in no way help the team. Massa has been a great team member over the years and to say something like this publicly is not gonna work--unless they're trying to get rid of him, or they're making sure he's good and beat up so he has no fight in him next year either.
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