Stefano Domenicali supports Felipe Massa through this lean patch – Formula 1 news
Stefano Domenicali shows support for Felipe Massa how has been down on form lately.
Domenicali said that Ferrari will rally around Massa to support him in the future Grands Prix. Massa has hit a low point in his career as he has not been performing up to his potential in the previous or the current season so far.
Massa finished 15th in the Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday while his teammate Fernando Alonso pulled off an astonishing win. The stark difference in the two drivers’ performance only begs the question of what is wrong with Massa.
“We saw, for example, one step that was in the right direction in qualifying because we saw there was an improvement compared to last weekend. Now we need to understand what happened today in terms of his race pace and in terms of his performance,” he said.
“In my view the problem is that this car is quite difficult, not easy. It can be very good and it can also be quite difficult. We showed this today that in certain conditions you have to have a certain driving style and you can be very, very good, and in
other conditions you can destroy the tyres,” said the Ferrari team boss.
Malaysian Grand Prix raised some more concerns for the Brazilian as Sergio Perez finished runners up in his Sauber. Perez a member of Ferrari’s Drivers Academy has been linked to be a worthy replacement for Massa in 2013, but after the race some have even
went on to speculate that Massa may be dropped for Sergio mid-way through the season.
Martin Whitmarsh also said that Ferrari might even look to get Perez in for the Chinese Grand Prix. Ferrari and Perez both have denied any such moves, but it gives an idea of how woeful it has been for the Brazilian struggling to keep his place.
It will be interesting to see if Massa has the nerves to rise up from all the pressure surrounding him, and come up with improved performances in the rest of the season.
The next race is in China two weeks from now.
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