Rubens Barrichello backs compatriot Felipe Massa – Formula 1 news
Former Brazilian Formula 1 driver, Rubens Barrichello has backed up struggling Felipe Massa of Ferrari regardless of some ongoing speculations about the future of his compatriot in F1.
It has been reported that in future, Massa may join his fellow citizen, Barrichello as he was at his home IndyCar debut in Sao Paulo. Nonetheless, Barrichello said that Massa will continue to race in F1 as he appears to be contended and pleased.
“He came here because I invited him,” Barrichello is quoted by Autosport. “It was a pleasure to receive him. He stayed on the pit wall with the team radio, living a totally different experience compared to F1. And different to what many people think - he
was not here looking for a job. This guy will race a lot more in F1. To face a problem, you have to smile and be happy with yourself before handling the situation. The important thing is what is inside him, and he seems relaxed. He was happy to be here.”
Massa is currently on 17th position in the drivers’ standings with only 2 points in pocket. Moreover, he struggled in the qualifying of the season opener held at Albert Park in Melbourne, Australia and retired during the race.
In the next two races held at Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia and Shanghai International Circuit in China, he ended at 15th and 13th positions after starting from the 12th place in the grid in both the Grands Prix.
Nevertheless, he managed to secure 2 points in the fourth race held at Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir where he set off from 14th grid position and secured 9th place finish.
It will be important to mention that there have been many discussions regarding the replacement of Massa with Sergio Perez of Sauber-Ferrari who delivered an amazing performance in the second race and secured the second podium finish in the rainy conditions
after following the Spaniard, Fernando Alonso of the Scarlet team.
However, afterwards Stefano Domenicali, the team principal of Ferrari said that they are ready to provide Massa with everything which he would need in order to improve his performance in the season ahead.
On the other hand, Perez also expressed his commitment with the Swiss team for this season.
Tags: