Massa:" I will no longer race for Alonso - the time has come to look after myself."

[Greig]

What has this has to do with Massas relationship with Alonso outside the car? Alonso is not the one ordering team orders, is he? Its the team that does that. I dont see this as bashing Alonso or that Massa has any problems with Alonso.

Maybe he would like to help his friend with the title, you know like how MS shuffled over to help little Seb beat us.

[Hermann]

Maybe he would like to help his friend with the title, you know like how MS shuffled over to help little Seb beat us.

That was different, he was just helping his fellow countryman. Blood is thicker than water.

[Greig]

That was different, he was just helping his fellow countryman. Blood is thicker than water.

Tell that to Ralf

[Hermann]

Tell that to Ralf

Between brothers, things are always a bit different- family issues

[sagi58]

A bit surprised to see this, just a couple of days after he goes on to sing praises about Alonso.
Am guessing, this has been twisted by the press in translation just to sensationalise it.

Too true! I'm betting it's only about creating a problem where one doesn't exist!!

[zoocheatah]

It's good he came out and said this. Now we have plenty of races for him to show us how much better he can do.

[Silent Bob]

It's good he came out and said this. Now we have plenty of races for him to show us how much better he can do.

I don't get this statement. So for the past races has Massa not been giving 100%? If we haven't seen Massa at his best yet, then it's a little late to start now, isn't it?

[F2002]

Bar the failed tow at Monza, and then Alonso eventually overtaking him during the race, I don't recall any other example of him really helping Alonso this season, do you?

[Winter]

I think Felipes statement was just a "part of the game" to get more interest from another teams for rest of the season.

[Stormsearcher]

What has this has to do with Massas relationship with Alonso outside the car? Alonso is not the one ordering team orders, is he? Its the team that does that. I dont see this as bashing Alonso or that Massa has any problems with Alonso.

Of course he doesnt. Its the media hoping he does.

Besides that, about the comment, if a driver praises another and rates him very highly, he wouldnt turn around and say from now i will not be helping him-- seemingly suggesting that the team mates success is down to him playing second fiddle. Which i dont think is the case, so naturally its the media having some fun.

[Catalan]

Posted a new thread about this since I don´t think this belong in the celebrating of Felipes career in the "Forza Felipe" thread.



http://www.gpupdate.net/en/f1-news/3...ce-for-alonso/
---

What will happen if "Fernando is faster than you" appears on the radio during the last 7 races? I cant see Ferrari allowing Massa to hamper Alonsos championship hopes by "looking after himself"?

It's been always said that Ferrari has been, is and will be more important that its drivers ( be it Schumacher, Alonso, Massa, Kimi ... ). At this moment Alonso is still fighting for the championship and he needs all the help from the team and Ferrari will pay Massa til the checkered flag in Brazil. So, I'm sure Massa will be a team player and help if needed. But in case he does something stupid while the championship is still open, I wouldn't hesitate to immediately replace him by Pedro de la Rosa til the end of the season.

[Nova]

He probably didnt really say this..he still drives for Ferrari, so....

[Winter]

He probably didnt really say this..he still drives for Ferrari, so....

Isn`t there original version of the interwiew anywhere?

I completly understand if he said it, he really has to think himself right now if he wants to continue driving in F1.
There is so much competition for so few seats right now, Hulkenberg, Bianchi, Sutil, and Maldonado(s millions).

[wisepie]

As always, the media making a headline out of an off-the-cuff remark in an interview, but I think we can all read between the lines and know exactly what Felipe means. Who can blame him for putting himself in the spotlight for a change?

[Module]

Bar the failed tow at Monza, and then Alonso eventually overtaking him during the race, I don't recall any other example of him really helping Alonso this season, do you?

The problem is that we don't realy know how much he has done to help. How much has his races been compromised by testing for Alonso? How much has he had to drive with Alonsos setup to gather info for Alonso? Is the car developed only for Alonso?

There is ofcourse the obvius "Fernando is faster than you" but behind the scenes there might be a lot more things that compromise his races compared to Alonsos. Now Massa has the rest of his career to think about and wouldn't want to risk his chances to continue on F1 to aid his teammate. This doesn't mean that he would in any way hamper Ferrari as WDC is all but lost and you don't get any money from being 2nd or 3rd so he realy has in my mind the right to think about only his own races. It's only 7 races and the worst thing he could do is to take points from Alonso, not Ferrari.

[Module]

It's been always said that Ferrari has been, is and will be more important that its drivers ( be it Schumacher, Alonso, Massa, Kimi ... ). At this moment Alonso is still fighting for the championship and he needs all the help from the team and Ferrari will pay Massa til the checkered flag in Brazil. So, I'm sure Massa will be a team player and help if needed. But in case he does something stupid while the championship is still open, I wouldn't hesitate to immediately replace him by Pedro de la Rosa til the end of the season.

I realy don't get this comment. If he takes points from Alonso he should be replaced by PDR?!!!???! So you would sacrifice Ferraris WCC points to secure Alonsos 2nd or 3rd place in WDC?!!? You start by saying that Ferrari is more important than any driver and still you would sacrifice Ferraris money, points and WCC standing if Massa hinders Alonsos WDC-hunt?

[Stormy]

I dont see any reason Massa helping Alonso,the championship might be still be open but lets not fool ourself's,the WDC goes to Vettel and thats plain,everyone knows that.
So why should Massa help Alonso finish higher in the championship if he cant be on the top ?
We should grant him equal status now,it doesnt really matter.

And i wish him good luck driving for himself next year,wherever he goes.

[F2002]

The problem is that we don't realy know how much he has done to help. How much has his races been compromised by testing for Alonso? How much has he had to drive with Alonsos setup to gather info for Alonso? Is the car developed only for Alonso?

In that case, why replace him with Kimi?

[Nero Horse]

I dont see any reason Massa helping Alonso,the championship might be still be open but lets not fool ourself's,the WDC goes to Vettel and thats plain,everyone knows that.
So why should Massa help Alonso finish higher in the championship if he cant be on the top ?
We should grant him equal status now,it doesnt really matter.

And i wish him good luck driving for himself next year,wherever he goes.

He can drive for himself but should the opportunity arise where he can help Ferrari by helping Alonso then he should definitely do it. He's still a Ferrari employee till the end of the season and as such he's expected to do everything he can to help his employer (Ferrari) to achieve the highest goals possible. Which I'm sure he will do, because he's not a vindictive or bitter guy, at least not the Felipe I know. Both championships are still open, despite the big points gap, and if Ferrari decides to pursue them then Felipe's help is needed and I expect him to be professional about it and help Ferrari in every way that he can till the end. Every team would expect their drivers to remain professional and always give 100% of their effort, whether they have a contract for next season or not is completely irrelevant here. And I'm sure that Felipe will remain a fully professional Ferrari driver and helps the team as much as he can.

[Nero Horse]

The problem is that we don't realy know how much he has done to help. How much has his races been compromised by testing for Alonso? How much has he had to drive with Alonsos setup to gather info for Alonso? Is the car developed only for Alonso?

I think you should refrain from making such unsubstantiated speculations if you haven't got any proof whatsoever. Such libelous and groundless speculations will do no good to anybody. I know that you're a Kimi fan, but please have some respect for Ferrari, ok.

[Hornet]

[/B]

I realy don't get this comment. If he takes points from Alonso he should be replaced by PDR?!!!???! So you would sacrifice Ferraris WCC points to secure Alonsos 2nd or 3rd place in WDC?!!? You start by saying that Ferrari is more important than any driver and still you would sacrifice Ferraris money, points and WCC standing if Massa hinders Alonsos WDC-hunt?

Top teams are geared for the WDC, that's what the teams want. Driver1-Driver2 or Driver2-Driver1 position still brings the same total point for WCC anyway. Team order doesn't sacrifice WCC.

[Module]

I think you should refrain from making such unsubstantiated speculations if you haven't got any proof whatsoever. Such libelous and groundless speculations will do no good to anybody. I know that you're a Kimi fan, but please have some respect for Ferrari, ok.

I was just speculating on Massas words. The comment I answered to was that Massa only helped in the few obvius cases in wich case Massas words wouldn't have a lot of bearing. If on the other hand the number 1/2 has meant that he has done more to help and feels its compromised his performance in races it would make more sence. I don't think it's disrispect to Ferrari, they had clearly chosen the 1/2 way.

[Module]

Top teams are geared for the WDC, that's what the teams want. Driver1-Driver2 or Driver2-Driver1 position still brings the same total point for WCC anyway. Team order doesn't sacrifice WCC.

No team order doesn't obeyed or not obeyed, but replacing a current driver with somebody that hasn't raced for ages would.

[stefa]

From my point of view, first is Ferrari win (with who ever is driving it) and at the end of season another CWC, and than it would be great to have WDC from driver driving Ferrari.

[Nick Singer]

FWIW, if Heidi has two DNFs - a pile up and one mechanical failure, say - it is all up in the air again!

It ain't over 'til it's over!

[brembo man]

I dont see any reason Massa helping Alonso,the championship might be still be open but lets not fool ourself's,the WDC goes to Vettel and thats plain,everyone knows that.
So why should Massa help Alonso finish higher in the championship if he cant be on the top ?
We should grant him equal status now,it doesnt really matter.

And i wish him good luck driving for himself next year,wherever he goes.

Massa should drive for himself for sure. Look how Ferrari kicked him out, leading him on all season to believe he was in for 2014. I guess one can say he got paid and they owe him nothing, and he owes Ferrari nothing but to finish the season out with his radio off. Forget team orders, go for it Felipe. He's no longer with the firm, team , driver , they owe each other nothing. Look at the respect the chin showed Ferrari after all the years, he pulls over to let Vettel pass, to hell with Ferrari. I hope Massa doesn't use him as a model in the future and disrespect Ferrari . I believe he's too genuine a good person to ever do any bad by us.

[Meiga]

[/B]

I realy don't get this comment. If he takes points from Alonso he should be replaced by PDR?!!!???! So you would sacrifice Ferraris WCC points to secure Alonsos 2nd or 3rd place in WDC?!!? You start by saying that Ferrari is more important than any driver and still you would sacrifice Ferraris money, points and WCC standing if Massa hinders Alonsos WDC-hunt?

I would have thought it obvious that Catalan was talking not about securing Alonso's 2nd in WDC, but about helping him try to get the title.

[F2002]

I was just speculating on Massas words. The comment I answered to was that Massa only helped in the few obvius cases in wich case Massas words wouldn't have a lot of bearing. If on the other hand the number 1/2 has meant that he has done more to help and feels its compromised his performance in races it would make more sence. I don't think it's disrispect to Ferrari, they had clearly chosen the 1/2 way.

I understand your point, infact there were cases in the past when people were complaining about Felipe's performances, when I used to reply saying who knows perhaps there is a "testing" role that Massa was performing, including simple things such as switching to a different tyre compound in advance of Alonso during a race, to see whether the change was worth making. Alonso himself made an interesting comment about the value of Massa in the simulator, although frankly I forgot where I read it exactly (on Twitter perhaps).

What is strange about that reasoning, though, is that, even if Felipe was taking such a role, the team would know that, and would therefore know his "real" potential. They wouldn't replace him if they knew that he was 0.xxx seconds quicker, but was not exploiting that potential for whatever reason.

I recently watched quite a good interview with Schumacher, where he was saying that, with the current tyres, drivers are reaching perhaps 60%-70% of the potential of their cars. F1 has really become a matter of tyre management, and Felipe seems to have been one of those drivers who has struggled the most with these new tyres. If that's the case, then I don't expect any major improvement from him, even if he truly decides to race for himself as he is saying.

[Sempre_Ferrari]

Massa should drive for himself for sure. Look how Ferrari kicked him out, leading him on all season to believe he was in for 2014. I guess one can say he got paid and they owe him nothing, and he owes Ferrari nothing but to finish the season out with his radio off. Forget team orders, go for it Felipe. He's no longer with the firm, team , driver , they owe each other nothing. Look at the respect the chin showed Ferrari after all the years, he pulls over to let Vettel pass, to hell with Ferrari. I hope Massa doesn't use him as a model in the future and disrespect Ferrari . I believe he's too genuine a good person to ever do any bad by us.

I'm a bit confused by this.

First you say that Massa should disrespect Ferrari by saying he should forget/ignore team orders, and this whilst he is till employed by the team. Then you go on to say that you hope that he doesn't disrespect Ferrari if and when he is racing for another team....

A bit contradictory IMO

[brembo man]

I'm a bit confused by this.

First you say that Massa should disrespect Ferrari by saying he should forget/ignore team orders, and this whilst he is till employed by the team. Then you go on to say that you hope that he doesn't disrespect Ferrari if and when he is racing for another team....

A bit contradictory IMO

Please alow me to uncontradict myself. Racing to win for the next 7 races is not being disrespectfull esp. to a team that kicked him out. He is IMO entitled at least to go for it as they Ferrari are going to let his replacement do. I believe they tortured him enough stringing him along with false hope. Again, he got paid so they owe him nothing more. Next: Putting aside the rest of this season, I hope wherever he goe's he has the best of luck. Just don't do a chin on us , like let someone not even on his team pass so Ferrari don't win. Race to win while still here, don't dis us in the future, no contradiction . And like I said he's too much a genuine person to do anything so low as to do what I said that bum did to us.