Massa Who?

[ECW Dan Selby]

Originally Posted by wolfhound

Bianchi is with Force India this year and Perez is at Sauber. They are not in a situation where Gary Paffet is with McLaren or Buemi is at Red Bull.

Yes Ferrari can call on Perez or Bianchi but they are not available at a moments notice. I doubt they could be called into action during a GP weekend at short notice if one of the current drivers became unavailable.

I'm presuming here, but I would have thought Ferrari have enough 'horsepower' to make some changes...?

Selby

[wolfhound]

I agree that Ferrari could get a driver in a short time but they do not appear to have somebody who is fully up to date with their car and systems ready to jump into the car, without having to worry about which buttons are which on the steering wheel for example.

[bella]

Originally Posted by wolfhound

I agree that Ferrari could get a driver in a short time but they do not appear to have somebody who is fully up to date with their car and systems ready to jump into the car, without having to worry about which buttons are which on the steering wheel for example.

arguably they don't have 2 race drivers who can do that already though

[p-matt]

What about getting Sutil replacing Massa mid-season? Sutil is competent enough and saves getting Perez or di Resta out of contract and ending up underwhelming a la Fisichella.

[W.A Trichlorostyrene]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

Would they want him in IndyCar? Rubens made the jump and is doing relatively well and Massa's a lot younger than Rubens.

As long as he wants it, I'm pretty sure they would. All he needs is the budget. But this should be a formality. Rubens managed to gather one in a few weeks. And I can imagine that Massa has a Rubens-type popularity in Brazil - if he's not more popular than Rubens himself(remember Interlagos 2008). Plus, Brazil's an ever-growing market for IndyCar, with many Brazilians sponsors involved, and possibilities for a 2nd Brazilian race soon.


But anyway, concerning his replacement, I would say that Sutil is the best pick for the short term. No contract right now. Very reliable and consistant guy. The ideal 2nd driver. The right guy for taking points to Alonso's rivals on regular basis.

[Mr V]

Originally Posted by p-matt

What about getting Sutil replacing Massa mid-season?

I was going to post the same thing, albeit tongue in cheek

[bella]

the man wears oscar wilde quote-emblazoned tshirts, ffs. he's not cut out for ferrari

[blaffer]

Will Buxton on Twitter a few minutes ago:

Calling all American F1 fans... keep your eyes peeled for a spot of really great news at around 0900 UK time tomorrow morning

Danica Patrick to replace Felipe Massa at Ferrari ?

[Adam43]

I need that to happen!

[chunterer]

Originally Posted by blaffer

Will Buxton on Twitter a few minutes ago:



Danica Patrick to replace Felipe Massa at Ferrari ?

Alexander Rossi?!

[Bononi]

Originally Posted by Adam43

I need that to happen!

Please, please !

[Razzzor]

Bianchi needs a bit more experience before he joins alongside a hall of famer (Alonso) and the most successful team in history. He should be dominating WSR with all the experience he's had in GP2.

Perez, on the other hand, would be who I'd be poaching to replace Massa. Honestly I think just about anyone on the grid would be able to do better than Massa at the moment, so if it's Di Resta, Hulkenberg, Perez... Ferrari should be acting fast. But it kind of needs to be long term as well, not just a quick replacement.

If Ferrari want the constructors title this year though, I think Massa will be more consistent than Bianchi. But if they put in Bianchi right now, by next season he'd be up to speed and more comfortable and perhaps they can go for the constructors then.

This year, I think McLaren, Red Bull, Lotus all have a far better shot at the constructors than Ferrari do, regardless of their second driver.

Ultimately, I wouldn't be surprised if Massa is there till years end, and gets replaced next year by Perez. I'll look forward to seeing how he goes against Alonso - will be very interesting!

[OZ_HCR32]

Keeping in mind the penalty, which to me was a bit of a stretch...he didnt have too bad a weekend. You can't have a poor quali, and get a drive through in such a close race weekend and get points.

He isn't covering himself in glory, but this weekend wasnt enough to single the end for the guy.

Who to replace him? You have to wonder where last years rejects have ended up. Sutil or Jaime. Neither are overly promising but in light of the car Perez has under him I think Sauber need to keep him for Constructors points and earnings...ditto the FI team and drivers. So think it would have to be Jaime or Sutil....to which point I would bet money on Massa doing a better job then either of them given the circumstances.

So Massa will be there to end of season...but figure a new second driver will be under contract in the near future

[ECW Dan Selby]

In all seriousness, I don't think Sutil is a bad shout to round out the season.

How can anyone deny he had a really good season last year? The guy's good. He ain't going to be upsetting Fernando, but you can beat he'll be hauling in some points.

Plus, he's a guy looking for a seat for next season. He'll perform because his career depends on it.

Selby

[pauln]

Originally Posted by blaffer

Will Buxton on Twitter a few minutes ago:



Danica Patrick to replace Felipe Massa at Ferrari ?

Conor Daly aero testing for Force India.
http://www.forceindiaf1.com/news/det...ra-force-india

Not as exciting as some of our speculation, but a step in the right direction for him.

[W.A Trichlorostyrene]

Originally Posted by Razzzor

Bianchi needs a bit more experience before he joins alongside a hall of famer (Alonso) and the most successful team in history. He should be dominating WSR with all the experience he's had in GP2.

I don't think it'll be that easy for him, the WSR field is very strong this year. Possibly stronger than GP2 itself.

Also, for the record, Bianchi is not the only one in the field with 2 GP2 seasons(Sam Bird).

[bella]

Originally Posted by Razzzor

Bianchi needs a bit more experience before he joins alongside a hall of famer (Alonso) and the most successful team in history. He should be dominating WSR with all the experience he's had in GP2.

what can i say, if you watch a race with timing screens it's fairly obvious he's a cut above everyone else in that field. and that's saying something because there's some seriously good young drivers. he would have won race 2 by a country mile had he not stalled on the grid (that will be a common problem this year, which is a pity).

he already proved he can do the domination thing in the euroseries against a not shabby at all field in 2009, and he's got the measure of korjus. the concern would kick in if he couldn't beat his teammate... rest assured if it was within the realms of possibility to own the field completely, bianchi would be doing it. let's be realistic here. a helping hand he might have had, but in direct comparison to the red bull boys he's not been as carefully managed as they have.

/fangirl

[Mr V]

Originally Posted by pauln

Conor Daly aero testing for Force India.
http://www.forceindiaf1.com/news/det...ra-force-india

Not as exciting as some of our speculation, but a step in the right direction for him.

Well. that was a bit anti climatic in the end

[chunterer]

The thing that bugs me about Jules is he really should've put away the GP2 field last year which wasn't particularly strong. He did a couple of great races but didn't shine overall. There's plenty of time yet for him I guess but depends on whether Todt can get him the right drive at the right time. I doubt Ferrari is either of those things at present.

I can't see Sutil getting the gig either, he had his chances and didn't make the most of them he's just an average professional driver.

If Alguersuari wasn't Spanish (surely luca wouldn't sanction 2 Spaniards) i'd be wanting him in the car but then he couldn't qualify all that well either so they'd be in same situation as with Massa.

[wolfhound]

In the short term what about Nick Heidfeld, he would probably do a competent job, but not set the world on fire.

[chunterer]

Not a bad shout or even Jarno, both would be a very safe pair of hands and would likely give their all in pride driving for the Scuderia.

[Reno40]

I suspect they'll be remembering how good Fisichella should have been a few years back....and may conclude to retain Massa until Perez becomes available. Though if the data is showing he is struggling for a particular reason - and he can't correct it - then they will have to act. Heidfeld wouldn't be a bad bet for safe results but with the tyres this year there doesn't seem to be any dead cert results!

[ECW Dan Selby]

I dunno about Heidfeld and Trulli.

They were both kicked out with good reason - they were pretty average. They don't have that 'drive' anymore. They both had their day/chance, and didn't take it. Look at Fisi in 2009 - did not work out too well.

My point with Sutil is that he was not booted out due to lack of speed, he was booted out due to other circumstances. The guy wants a place back on the grid - he'll drive the arse off the thing.

But failing that, I don't see Perez being a bad idea at all.

Selby

[Razzzor]

Originally Posted by bella

what can i say, if you watch a race with timing screens it's fairly obvious he's a cut above everyone else in that field. and that's saying something because there's some seriously good young drivers. he would have won race 2 by a country mile had he not stalled on the grid (that will be a common problem this year, which is a pity).

he already proved he can do the domination thing in the euroseries against a not shabby at all field in 2009, and he's got the measure of korjus. the concern would kick in if he couldn't beat his teammate... rest assured if it was within the realms of possibility to own the field completely, bianchi would be doing it. let's be realistic here. a helping hand he might have had, but in direct comparison to the red bull boys he's not been as carefully managed as they have.

/fangirl

Yeah I'm sure he'll be a serious championship contender. I was watching the live timing for the second race, but all my attention was on Ritchie Stanaway... who was going pretty good considering the engine problems they were having. Korjus did out-qualify Bianchi, his teammate, in both quali sessions, and was faster in 2nd practise, but Korjus is in his 2nd season with Tech 1.

[Greem]

There's an interesting conundrum with Perez, though. Ferrari have a history of having an absolute No. 1 driver and an absolute No. 2, and the only time they came near to not doing that in the recent past was when Schumacher broke his legs at Silverstone in 1999 when they were left with no choice other than to support the Swerve's crack at the title.

Would Sergio want to go to Ferrari in the knowledge that he would not be the No. 1 driver? As long as Alonso is there, and monstering the car in the way that he is at the moment (which Massa clearly isn't capable of doing), Alonso will be top dog. Anyone else will get crumbs off his table.