FIA President Jean Todt tips Ferrari’s Felipe Massa to bounce back in 2012 – Formula 1 news
FIA president Jean Todt has said that Felipe Massa will bounce back in 2012 after a horrid 2011 season.
Massa had a forgetful 2011 season, as he lacked the pace worthy of his potential. The Brazilian was involved in several run-ins with McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton, causing collisions, retirements, and penalties.
The Brazilian was not able to secure even a single Grand Prix win and ended up sixth on the drivers’ championship. On the other hand his teammate Fernando Alonso gave consistent performances throughout the season to save Ferrari some blushes and helped the
team claim a third place finish on the constructors’ championship.
The blame cannot be put solely on Massa though as Ferrari did not have a competitive car relative to the grid leaders. Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo admitted that Ferrari lost pace due to the off-throttle blown diffuser issue during the season.
While Montezemolo still gave a warning to Massa to perform in the upcoming 2012 season as he may not be able to retain his seat beyond 2012 if he is unable to perform to his potential.
Todt a former Ferrari boss has maintained that Massa will bounce back in the 2012 season.
“Felipe was unable to adapt completely to the new Pirelli tyres,” he told Corriere della Sera. “I think he's still a good driver who will show that again.”
“(Fernando) Alonso is the point of reference not just for him (Massa) but for everyone -- and Felipe was three tenths away from him, not three seconds,” he added.
Talking about Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali Todt said, “Stefano's role is the eye of the storm. I was also constantly the subject of criticism and I'm proud that in the end I made the decision about how I should retire after all the risks that
I would be fired.”
It would be interesting to see how Massa performs during the 2012 season under immense pressure from the Ferrari boss and his fans. He might get some respite through a more competitive edition of the Ferrari car for the 2012 season but how good is the car
going to be will only be revealed in February during the pre-season test.
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