Felipe Massa - The next wingman for Ferrari?
The 2010 season has been very disappointing for the Brazilian driver Felipe Massa in the Ferrari as he is the only driver out of the top 3 teams not competing for the drivers’ title this year. Felipe Massa had a life threatening accident last year as he
was hit in the head by a spring that flew from the Brawn GP of Rubens Barrichello, making him lose consciousness. The Brazilian’s Ferrari slammed in the tyre wall as a result and suffered from a serious concussion. This was one of the most dreadful accidents
in the history of Formula 1.
One can say that Felipe Massa might never be the same after this accident as he was a potential race winner and probably a championship winner as well. No one can blame the Brazilian driver, he is driving at his best but something or the other just keeps
stopping him and Felipe does not have the power to change that. Ferrari has been concerned with Massa’s performance and there were many rumours that he might not drive for team Ferrari in the 2011 season.
Ferrari team boss Luca di Montezemolo urged Felipe Massa to help his teammate Fernando Alonso in every way in order to secure the drivers’ title this year for his team. This reminds me of the time when Michael Schumacher used to drive in Ferrari and his
teammates were forced to help the German in order to secure the title. Rubens Barrichello and Eddie Irvine used to driver alongside the 7-time world champion and the team openly supported Michael for the title pursuits.
Evidence of this attitude was witnessed in the 2002 Formula 1 season when Rubens let Michael win at the Austrian grand prix keeping in mind the season was not even half way through by then. Felipe Massa seems like the next “wingman” of Ferrari these days
with Alonso as their leading driver. These incidents forced the FIA to restrict team orders and monitor team radio.
“I have waited for Felipe with great perseverance in the last four races. I want a strong Massa who will shave points off the rivals”, di Montezemolo told
Gazzetta dello Sport.
It seems that the team is not satisfied with his performance and let’s face it, he is not racing up to the mark keeping in mind he has one of the best cars on track.
“In Singapore he had some bad luck, but he is in good condition to win. Those who race for Ferrari do not race for themselves, but for the Ferrari team colours. One who wants to race for himself will have to face his team”, added the team boss.
Di’Montezemolo stated that the team’s decision to focus on Fernando Alonso has proved to be the right choice for the team. He is giving strong performances consistently and is blending with the team very well despite some concerns.
The spirit of Ferrari is hard to break and it the team has shown great ability to respond and fight back against its rivals as the team is used to working under pressure more than their rivals work. The team is focussing on people like Stefano Domenicali
and Aldo Costa as they have proved to be vital for the team.
This season has been a spectacle of uncertainty as Ferrari won the first race and then had a terrible mid-season followed by some problems with the development of the car. However, Ferrari came back and is now back in the chase after two-consecutive wins
at Monza and Singapore.
The team boss believes that this championship will be decided at the final race at Abu Dhabi and Ferrari might just have the edge there.
“Ferrari has always been team to beat. We won eight constructors' world championships in the last ten years, it is important for me to reach the highest levels in Formula 1 this year as well. We're second and we will contest the championships until the
very end”, praised di’Montezemolo.
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