Massa on the verge of his downfall?
Felipe Massa is one of the bravest drivers Formula 1 has ever witnessed. The Brazilian driver joined Sauber in 2002 to begin his career before joining Ferrari in 2006. Felipe constantly kept challenging his teammate Michael Schumacher back then and it seemed
that he might finally be the person who breaks Ferrari’s habit of favouring just one driver in their team in order to secure the drivers’ title and eventually, the constructors’ title as well.
Since Massa joined in at a time when Michael Schumacher was struggling to retain his title in 2006, Felipe Massa proved that he has the capability to do what Michael does and therefore, the team finally decided to help both drivers equally in their quest
for the drivers’ title.
After Michael retired, Felipe teamed up alongside Kimi Raikkonen and played a huge part in enabling the Finn driver win his first drivers’ title in 2007. However, Massa was not done yet as he drove superbly in 2008 and it seemed that he had won the title
until the very last lap, but Lewis Hamilton took over 5th place and secured the driver’s title for McLaren.
In 2009, Felipe Massa was going pretty well but after a fatal accident at the Hungarian Grand Prix, it seems that the Brazilian driver is not the same anymore. Felipe faced some fatal skull injuries and had to miss the rest of the 2009 season as a result.
Massa returned to Formula 1 in 2010 hoping for the best possible result with his team. However, it seems that Felipe Massa struggled vitally and was clearly nowhere near the top 5 drivers in terms of pace and statistics.
There were many rumours that he might not be able to keep his seat at Ferrari for 2011 but the team cleared this matter and stated that they will keep Felipe Massa for 2011 as they believe that the Brazilian driver still has a lot of potential.
However, since the team has not revealed whether they have signed an official deal with Massa, there are many rumours that his seat still might be under threat after the Brazilian finished 108 points behind his Spanish teammate.
Felipe Massa has not scored a victory in 2 years and it seems that his confidence level has fallen vitally since the tragedy at the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix.
“I don't think 2011 signifies a crucial year for me. Fundamentally, I have been in this situation often. I remember that at the start of 2006, many people said I would only last a year at Ferrari and then I won races that season and went on to stay for a
long time more,” he insisted.
Felipe claims that he was not able to score good results in 2010 as he found it very difficult to get used to the tyre compound Bridgestone came up with for the 2010 Formula 1 season. Michael Schumacher has been reporting the same problem since the beginning
of this season. However, their complaint cannot be justified in any way since both of them have not been able to outperform their teammates almost throughout the season. And since their teammates are also driving the exact same car with the same package, one
can say that both of these drivers are just trying to give an explanation for their failure.
“In 2008, there was a lot of pressure, especially at the start, but I managed to cross the line at the end of the final race as world champion [before Lewis Hamilton's move on Timo Glock that sealed it for the Englishman],” added Massa.
It would be interested to see how both of these drivers drive in 2011 as Bridgestone will be replaced by Pirelli as the lone tyre suppliers of Formula 1.
“This year, there were many who said I would have a difficult year after my accident in Budapest - it turned out that way, but not for that reason,” Felipe said.
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