Ferrari driver Felipe Massa’s performance at the 2011 Chinese Grand Prix might prove to be his breakthrough
Ferrari’s Felipe Massa has been struggling since the beginning of 2010 as he has been unable to give his best performance after returning to the sport. Felipe had to depart from his team and the sport for half a year as he went through a life-threatening accident during the Hungarian Grand Prix of the 2009 Formula 1 season.
Since then, Massa has only scored just 5 podiums without scoring a single pole position, which is extremely disappointing for the Brazilian. Felipe had scored 11 wins and 15 pole positions before his accident and since then, he has been hoping to make a comeback.
In 2011, it was expected that Ferrari would be one of the top running teams of the sport once again but it seems that up until now, the team has failed to live up to that reputation and it is getting quite difficult for the team to compete against Red Bull Racing Team and McLaren this year.
However, the team is trying its best to improve its performance and at this past week’s Chinese Grand prix, Felipe Massa was able to secure 6th place, ahead of his teammate Fernando Alonso which is a sign of progress for him.
It is believed that his performance at the Chinese Grand Prix might prove to be a breakthrough for the Brazilian. Felipe chased Sebastian Vettel but was unable to get closer to him as his car’s rear tyres finally surrendered and as a result, he tumbled down the order in the last couple of laps.
Nevertheless, it is believed that the two-time Formula 1 world champion Fernando Alonso is the 1st driver of the team since Ferrari’s team boss Stefano Domenicali clearly stated that Fernando is the biggest asset of this team.
“I do not want to get into anything that might be interpreted as negative about Fernando. He is a fantastic driver and the biggest asset of this team,” said Stefano.
Felipe and his engineer Rob Smedley seem aware of the reality and it is quite clear that getting equal preference as the Spaniard is unachievable for Massa according to the current scenario.
Nevertheless, because of the fact that the Brazilian is improving and Ferrari is not performing as good as they were hoping for in the beginning of the season, it can be believed that the team might let both of its drivers a chance to run at their best.
With that mental clarity, Massa might just be able to race with a bit more freedom, which in turn would affect his overall performance massively and the driver might just be able to break his podium-jinx in the next few races.
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