Red Bull was in a different league in Hungary: Felipe Massa
Ferrari’s Felipe Massa admitted that Red Bull was way ahead in last week’s Hungarian GP. The team had a better car and strategy than the rest of the teams. Sebastian Vettel took pole position with a 1.2 second margin and his teammate Mark Webber won the race with 17.8 seconds ahead of Felipe’s teammate Fernando Alonso.
In Germany, Ferrari dominated the track with a one-two finish as Alonso won the race and Massa finished at second. In a week’s time, Red Bull came back and had the edge in Hungary. The Brazilian believes that this is also due to different characteristics of the circuits. Felipe explained to Ferraris official website that in qualifying at the German Grand Prix in Hockenheim, no one had the edge but Ferrari outperformed Red Bull in the race. Alonso believed that the team underperformed in Germany. However, at the Hungarian Grand Prix, the story was entirely different. That was mainly due to a completely different nature of the track.
Besides his acknowledgement of the Red Bull team, he said Ferrari is returning to form once again after scoring positive results in the past month. It was one of the busiest months the Brazilian could remember in his Formula 1 career.
The 29-year-old joined Formula 1 in 2002, signing with team Sauber, which did not seem very strong back then. However, Massa pulled off many points during his time in the team. He stayed with them for 3 years and left in 2005. The Brazilian scored 4 points in his first season and scored 12 and 11 points in the following years. A solitary 12th place was his best position in the drivers’ standings for Sauber under his steering. After his outstanding results, Ferrari offered him a place alongside Michael Schumacher to replace Rubens Barrichello.
Felipe joined Ferrari in the year 2006. This elevated Massa’s career and he is still racing for the team till date. He currently has 11 race wins, 31 podiums and 15 pole positions to his name. The Brazilian scored 80, 94, 97 and 22 points in the years 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009 respectively and finished second in the drivers’ standings in 2008. Last year was the toughest season for the 29-year-old as he was involved in one of the most dangerous accident ever witnessed in the history of Formula 1. He was hit in the head by a spring from a rival car in front of him in the qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix. The Brazilian was lucky to survive this dreadful incident. Felipe had to go through serious surgeries as he suffered head injuries. But as soon as he recovered, the driver was willing to return to the Formula 1 at the highest level in 2010. This year however, has not been very successful for Felipe Massa. In 12 races, Massa has been able to score only 3 podiums and 97 points. He is only 44 points behind his teammate Fernando Alonso and is 3 points ahead of the German driver Robert Kubica. He is leading the pack after the front-runners of the Championship.
There are rumors that Felipe Massa might not stay in Ferrari next season. His contract with Ferrari will end after this season and the Brazilian himself stated he might leave the team after the 2010 season. According to some reports, the person most likely to sign with Ferrari is the Polish driver Robert Kubica. Galvao Bueno stated that the Brazilian has to sign the new Ferrari contract for 2011. It is still not certain what the future holds for the driver.
However, Felipe hopes Ferrari will come out with full force in the next phase of the race and hopes to score some serious points. Massa believes this long break will be beneficial for the team and it will have a positive effect on the momentum Ferrari has picked. Massa will be spending this time relaxing with his family.
Felipe Massa is ready for the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps on August 27-29. Ferrari is optimistic for the race and expects Alonso decrease Mark Webber’s lead.
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