Will the Spanish Grand Prix be the start of improvement for Felipe Massa?
Felipe Massa is under tremendous pressure going into the European season of Formula 1.
Massa has had a torrid couple of seasons and the start to the 2012 season was one of the lowest ebbs of his performances.
Former drivers blame the 2009 accident as the reason behind a major dip in the Brazilian’s form. The accident was life threatening for Massa as a spring from the car ahead of his car flew and hit him flush on his helmet causing a concussion. He smashed into
the tyre wall at high speeds of over 100 miles/hour. Massa was airlifted to a hospital and after 6 to 8 months of rehab returned to F1.
Former drivers say that Massa has not looked the same after the accident. It may have shattered his confidence. While Massa has always maintained that the accident has had no effect on his driving. He has blamed one thing or another for his poor performance
when it is evident that he has been off the pace he had prior to the accident.
The added pressure of Ferrari President Luca Di Montezemolo’s warning to perform or lose out on the Ferrari seat has surely not been easy for the Brazilian and with each passing race it is becoming clearer that this would be more or less his last season
with the Red Scarlet team.
“This has been a really poor season start for me. Already I suffered because the car was badly balanced but, it has gotten a bit better in the last race. After a few laps I was struggling with the tyres. I had got a great start and had managed to make up
a few places and I was able to finish in the points,” Massa said after the Bahrain Grand Prix.
It will be important for Massa to pick up his game as soon as possible as his race seat with Ferrari is in serious jeopardy. Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has already tipped a few names that the management will be looking into for a probable replacement.
The Spanish Grand Prix is scheduled for May 13th 2012 three weeks from now. The Mugello test is scheduled for May 1st till 3rd and will give some track time to the Brazilian ahead of the European season.
It will be interesting to see how Massa performs once the European leg of the season starts, as he will feel much more comfortable with familiar conditions that will suit his driving style.
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