Luca di Montezemolo: Felipe Massa to stay with Ferrari in 2012 – Formula 1 news
According to Ferrari’s president Luca di Montezemolo’s recent statement, Felipe Massa is going to stay at the team for the 2012 Formula 1 season as Luca stated that there is “no question about it” when asked about the Brazilian driver’s future at the team.
“Yes, he has a contract with us for this year and for next year - so absolutely yes, no question about it,” he answered when asked about Massa’s future at the team.
Massa already has a contract for next year but since he had a disappointing 2010 Formula 1 season and 2011 isn’t looking so good either for him up until now, it was believed that the team might sign Nico Rosberg or Mark Webber as a replacement for him in
2012. However, since the team president’s recent statement, it seems that might not happen anytime soon.
On the other hand, he stated that he is hoping to keep the two-time Formula 1 world champion Fernando Alonso in the team for a “long time.”
“He is one of the best drivers I have seen in my career, very strong in the mind, pushing with the team in a constructive way, very close to the team. So I want to have Alonso for a long time,” said Montezemolo.
Alonso has been one of the best drivers in the sport since he has been in almost all sorts of teams and proved that he has the ability to change the situation himself in all sorts of circumstances as well.
However, when talking about Felipe Massa, one has to admit that the Brazilian driver has been slacking since he returned to the sport after a near fatal accident back in 2009 after which he was unable to compete for the rest of the 2009 Formula 1 season.
After 2010, it was believed that the team might replace him in 2011 but since the team decided to keep him for the 2011 Formula 1 season and he is still struggling to perform alongside his teammate. Keeping him for another year might not be the best decision
for Ferrari at the moment since they are already struggling to compete for victories this year.
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