Tag: felipe massa

Singapore GP Preview Quotes – Ferrari

Preview Quotes from the Ferrari boys ahead of this weekend’s Singapore GP.

Fernando Alonso, Ferrari
“This is a very demanding race from the physical point of view and also mentally, because as it takes place at night, it changes your rhythm a bit over the weekend. It’s a very special race with no room for mistakes, but it’s a track I like and where I have usually gone quite well, getting four podiums from five starts, so again this year, I’m tackling the weekend in a positive frame of mind, with great confidence that I can do well again. As a street circuit, it’s a track with a high risk factor, so the possibility is always there to make a mistake. I’d say the last sector, with Turns 18 and 19 that pass under a grandstand where you can easily make a mistake, is the most critical point on the track, where a small loss of concentration can end your race.”

Felipe Massa, Ferrari
“Singapore is one of the most tiring races on the calendar, or maybe the most tiring, because it is the longest race of the year, going the full two hours. Conditions are very humid even if we actually race at night. You sweat a lot in the car and you don’t get much air coming through the cockpit as the speeds are low. All in all, it’s the toughest race physically, but also psychologically, with it taking place at night, so that you see less, combined with the fact you are always so close to the barriers. Visibility is good under the lights but it’s not the same as driving in sunlight, which adds to the difficulty. But it’s fun and different to be there at night and makes for a great spectacle for the fans and an interesting event for us drivers.
“You can’t single out one aspect of the circuit which is more important than another. Everything counts here. If you make the slightest mistake at a corner, then you pay a high price. You have to take care at every corner and it’s a long track – one lap here is like two at Monaco, so precision and consistency are important, especially in qualifying when you have to put everything together perfectly. In fact, I’d say it’s harder to win at Singapore than Monaco. The track is longer and more complicated; a lap is around 1m 48s, while Monaco is much shorter.”

Photo by the Ferrari Twitter Team

September 19, 2013
Massa will no longer support Alonso

Felipe Massa has said that he will no longer play a supporting role to Fernando Alonso in the remaining races of the 2013 F1 season.

Massa insists that he is now driving for himself, and will no longer be Alonso’s wingman since being informed that he will no longer be part of the Ferrari team in 2014.

“I will not race for Alonso from now on,” he told TV Globo. “Right from Friday at Singapore I’ll be working for myself. I will attack all the time, every lap. It’s now the time to look after myself.”

Massa, who has been in talks with Lotus for the seat left vacant by his Ferrari replacement, Kimi Raikkonen, added that he has enjoyed his time alongside Alonso but that fireworks can be expected from Ferrari’s 2014 F1 driver pairing.

“I’m sure Fernando likes me, he has to. We have a nice relationship, I’m sure he sees me as a personal friend as I see him. Kimi and myself are also good friends, much more than when we were team-mates. I know both Fernando and Kimi on and off the track and I rate them as excellent drivers, but I’m afraid they will collide when sharing the team.”

“I told the bosses to breathe as much as possible while they still can because it will be hard for them to breathe next season.”

Photo by Ferrari F1 Twitter team

September 18, 2013
Felipe Massa in talks with Lotus

Felipe Massa has his eyes firmly set on the vacant Lotus seat after announcing his departure from Ferrari, and since the announcement was made that Kimi Raikkonen will take his place at Ferrari.

Massa has confirmed that he is in negotiations with Lotus for the race seat.

The possibility of a straight swop seems very enticing from many angles and it will be very interesting to see how Massa would perform at Lotus.

Massa told Globo Esporte that Lotus appeals to him as the most competitive option remaining on the 2014 F1 grid.

“We are negotiating,” he told the publication. “In my opinion, Lotus has a competitive car, which is what I want. We are having many conversations to try to find a way, not only for me but for Lotus, to continue with a good car.”

Massa revealed he has also been in talks with McLaren but said he that Lotus is still his best option. “I’ve had contact with McLaren but I cannot judge, it’s hard to say,” he said. “With Lotus, the contact was very good,” Massa added.

Nicholas Todt, Massa’s manager, last week told Canal Plus that Massa is determined to drive for a competitive team next year.

“He never would go to a smaller team to be second driver,” Todt said. “We need to find a car that can challenge at the front in F1. The best place available is undoubtedly the one left by Raikkonen at Lotus.”

Eric Boullier last week confirmed that Lotus is in talks with a number of drivers about the 2014 season and that Lotus will make their decision “shortly”.

September 16, 2013
F1 and the Big Boo Theories

The world of F1 always dishes up a good deal of speed, fun, scandal and every now and then, a bit of booing. Reynard Gelderblom sent us his thoughts on the last week in F1.

Even though the 2013 Italian Grand Prix in itself wasn’t the most exciting F1 race of the season, the entire week at Monza proved to be one of the most interesting. Usually at this point in time I’d have expressed my point of view on one big issue relating to Formula 1, this time I’ll touch on a few.

First off, you can’t call yourself a F1 fan if just the mere thought of the Italian GP doesn’t bring a shivering sense of anticipation to you. One of the most historic circuits in the country known for Ferrari and the beyond-fanatical support for the manufacturer. Regardless of where your allegiance lies, everyone loves the tifosi – the loyal fraternity of the Prancing Horse.

During the podium celebrations at the Italian GP I would admit that I lost some respect for some of them. Regardless of the fact that the budget for one F1 season is probably greater than that of some developing countries per annum, it’s still and always will be a sport. There is no place for “booing” in sport.

My message to those tifosi: Your man Fernando Alonso was never in contention for the victory during the race. It wasn’t a close fight to the flag – it was Sebastian Vettel showing dominance. Stand up and salute the victor or sit down and shut up if you can’t be real sportsmen.

I live in Cape Town and that sort of behaviour is the exact reason why Western Province rugby and cricket fans are considered the most unsportsmanlike supporters this side of hemisphere. By the way the first place goes to the fans of Galatasaray Football Club.

And, did anyone notice how visibly disgusted Mark Webber looked with his team mate’s win? Yes, we all know that he’s still sour about the Malaysian GP when Vettel passed him despite team orders, but go ask anyone in the nearby fashion capital Milan, and they’ll tell you: “There’s never a reason to walk around looking like last month’s jug of milk in the back of the fridge”.

Let’s dish out a good award here as well though…

The set of brake pads for the fastest driver of the week goes to…. Felipe Massa. If he ever enters a head-to-head fastest tweet competition, his opponent should be playing off a handicap. Massa was just a tad eager to announce his departure from Ferrari after 2013 on the social network platform, Twitter.

Eeeaasy there son, save that speed for the Sunday race – and I don’t mean on the way to the race. The Brazilian of course also made the news for a speeding ticket he collected on route to Monza on Sunday morning.

Given the amount of booing Vettel received for beating Alonso in the race, I wouldn’t have wanted to be the traffic cop involved when he went back to the office saying “Hey guys, I just booked a Ferrari F1 driver, in a Ferrari, on the Sunday of the Italian GP for speeding on the way to Monza”.

Be sure that I will be watching Twitter to see if any of the reporters I’m following are tweeting something about a traffic cop facing treason charges.

And still at Ferrari: Out with the old… in with the… eh old. Kimi Raikkonen has finally been confirmed as Fernando Alonso’s team mate for 2014.

I’m certainly looking forward to this and I’m sure now that the Iceman has picked his spot, the rest of the F1 paddock can now continue their game of F1 musical chairs to decide who drives what. Something I would like to mention though: Remember Senna and Prost at Mclaren in 1989, Alonso and Hamilton at McLaren in 2008?

Alonso is no one’s No.2 and Raikkonen is certainly not going to be anyone’s either – and there can only be one No.1. Alonso doesn’t play well with others and Raikkonen plays at his best on his own. While I’m sure that Vettel is picking a hairstyle to celebrate his fourth World championship already, I’m looking forward to the hair flying at Ferrari in 2014.

And a final note: This article goes out to the person who asked me recently “How can you sit and watch anything as boring as F1?” No name calling here… Too many people called each other idiots at Monza.

Reynard Gelderblom is the motorsport editor for Street Motion.

Keep up to date with the latest local motorsport news by following Street Motion on Twitter.

Photo Credits:

Tifosi from the podium – Fernando Alonso (Twitter)

Alonso selfie – Fernando Alonso (Twitter)

Kimi Raikkonen – F1 Madness screengrab

September 15, 2013
Ferrari vs Lotus: Personnel Wars

Kimi Raikkonen is not the only thing Ferrari has poached from the Lotus F1 team. The Italian squad has announced two new members who are set to join from the Enstone based team.

Ferrari has bolstered its technical side of operations by signing Lotus’ head of aerodynamics Dirk de Beer. Earlier in the year Ferrari snapped up the highly sought-after former Lotus technical director James Allison. Allison’s Ferrari duties officially started at the beginning of September. Team principal Stefano Domenicalli has also revealed that Allison’s account of Raikkonen’s ability to deliver techincal input and feedback helped convince the team to lure the Finn back to the Ferrari stable.

Jarrod Murphy, head of computer aided design (CAD) in Enstone will also set off for Ferrari after 17 years of service. It is believed that Ferrari has made the signing of Murphy on the request of James Allison.

In turn, Lotus has signed up Ferrari’s chief aerodynamicist Nicolas Hennel. Hennel is expected to start work at Lotus next month and his focus will be required on the 2014 car from the get-go.

It is also believed that Felipe Massa is now in contention for a seat at Lotus for 2014. Nicolas Todt, Massa’s manager, and Lotus team principal Eric Boullier has revealed that the Brazilian in the running for what they term to be “the best seat” left on the grid. “What is certain is that other teams are interested in Felipe,” said Todt. “Felipe will never play second fiddle in a small team, so what we need to do is find him a car that allows him to play a leading role in Formula 1.”

Up until this point Nico Hulkenberg has been linked with replacing Raikkonen at Lotus. Hulkenberg was also in contention at Ferrari and is highly regarded by the top teams in the paddock.

September 14, 2013
Mark Slade to be Raikkonen’s Ferrari Race Engineer?

Kimi Raikkonen has been officially announced as a Ferrari driver for 2014. Will Mark Slade take the reins on the pitwall as his race engineer?

The rapport between driver and engineer is one of the most crucial relationships within any Formula 1 team and with Raikkonen’s move away from Lotus speculation has been rife as to who will take over as the monosyllabic Finn’s race engineer. Rumoured to be in the running is current race engineer, Mark Slade.

The Raikkonen/Slade relationship goes back quite a ways. Mark Slade first became Raikkonen’s primary race engineer in 2002, his first season at McLaren. Slade continued as Raikkonen’s engineer throughout all five seasons at McLaren.

Raikkonen’s first three seasons at Ferrari were shared between Chris Dyer (2007 – 2008) and Fernando Alonso’s current engineer, Andrea Stella (2009).

A brief partnership with Simon Rennie at Lotus in 2012 was responsible for the now infamous “just leave me alone, I know what I’m doing” radio message. However, in 2013 Raikkonen once again teamed up with Mark Slade. It comes as no surprise then that Slade is rumoured to be moving with Raikkonen to Ferrari.

Felipe Massa’s race engineer, Rob Smedley, has been linked with a move to Williams but may yet end up with the Brazilian at his next team.

Photo: Lotuscars.com

September 13, 2013
Ferrari said no to Hulkenberg via sms

Nico Hulkenberg’s manager has revealed that Ferrari broke the bad news to the German driver via sms this week and has expressed his disappointment.

Hulkenberg was apparently being seriously considered by Ferrari as the replacement for Felipe Massa.

But when Ferrari signed Raikkonen, the Maranello based team let Hulkenberg know via an sms, according to the German driver’s manager, Werner Heinz.

Heinz told Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport, “After two months of negotiations, I expected at least a phone call.”

Heinz said that five lawyers worked for eight weeks on the Ferrari contract and ultimately, all that was still needed to finalise the deal, was Luca di Montezemolo’s signature.

“The contracts went back and forth and in the end only had to be signed,” he told the German newspaper Bild.

“Domenicali sent us a SMS at 22.50 on Tuesday,” he added.

September 12, 2013
Raikkonen happy to be returning to Maranello

Following the announcement that Kimi Raikkonen will be returning to drive for Ferrari in 2014, the Finn has said that he is very happy to be returning to Maranello saying that he can’t wait to be driving a “Prancing Horse car” again.

Speaking to the Ferrari.com website, Raikkonen said, “I am really happy to be returning to Maranello where I previously spent three fantastic and very successful years.”

“I have so many memories of my time at Ferrari, memories which have stayed with me these past years, first and foremost, winning the World Championship title in 2007, which was really unforgettable,” Raikkonen said. “I can’t wait to be driving a Prancing Horse car again and to reacquaint myself with so many people with whom I had such close links, as well as working with Fernando, whom I consider a great driver, in order to bring the team the success it deserves.”

Today’s announcement came after Felipe Massa announced his departure from the team last night.

Ferrari team principal, Stefano Domenicali said that he is very pleased to “welcome Kimi back to the Scuderia, the team with which he won his world championship title.” He went on to say, “I sense he is very happy to be returning to Maranello and very determined to tackle the work that awaits him in the best way possible.”

Fernando Alonso echoed the sentiments of his team principal, saying, “I’d like to welcome my new travelling companion: together, starting next year, we will have to tackle a very demanding technical and racing challenge.”

Domenicali and Alonso both paid tribute to Felipe Massa today and thanked him for his tenure with the team.

September 11, 2013
Felipe Massa Announces Departure from Ferrari

Felipe Massa has announced to his fans, on Instagram, that he will no longer be driving for Ferrari in 2014.

Massa, who started at Ferrari in 2006 will end his career with the Italian squad at the 2014 Brazilian Grand Prix.

“I would like to thank the team for all the victories and incredible moments experienced together. Thank you also to my wife and all of my family, to my fans and all my Sponsors”, said Massa.

However, he isn’t quite ready to close the door on his F1 career. “Right now I want to push as hard as possible with Ferrari for the remaining 7 races. For next year, I want to find a team that can give me a competitive car to win many more races and challenge for the Championship which remains my greatest objective!”

This leaves the door open for Kimi Raikkonen to join Ferrari. No doubt that this is surely going to happen now. The question remains. If Massa manages to stay in F1, which team will he move to? Rumours have been making the rounds that the Brazilian’s management have been in talks with the Lotus teams for a couple of weeks others suggest that DTM may be alternative for the 2008 runner-up.

September 10, 2013
F1 2013: Italian GP Post-Qualfying Report – Red Bull Romp To Front Row

Sebastian Vettel secured his thirtieth and Red Bull Racing’s fiftieth Formula 1 pole position in Saturday’s qualifying for the Italian GP.

Sebastian Vettel’s domination has been tempered by Lewis Hamilton in the last four races but the German maestro was not going to play second fiddle at the same historic venue as where he memorably won his first ever grand prix.

The pace of the Williams car wasn’t much to write home about but Pastor Maldonado still manged to drag his Renault powered car into the second part of qualifying. Teammate Valterri Bottas didn’t manage to emulate the Venezuelan as he joined Sauber’s Esteban Gutierrez, Giedo van der Garde, Charles Pic, Jules Biachi and Max Chilton at the back-end of the grid.

Drama and a closely fought battle was predicted for the final pole position shoot-out but the second session of qualifying is where the real commotion materialized. Paul di Resta, in recovery mode after a practice crash, failed to advance to the top ten and was joined by teammate Adrian Sutil and Pastor Maldonado. The real kicker however was the failure of Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean to advance to the final session of qualifying.

Lewis Hamilton, notoriously hard on himself, was quoted as saying that he “drove like an idiot” in the second part of the qualifying session. Twelfth place is certainly not what the Brit expected but chin up LH there’s always tomorrow. Lotus’ Romain Grosjean bemoaned the fact that he was unable to heat up his medium compound tyres prior to his final effort and Kimi Raikkonen…said nothing. Nevertheless, it is rather peculiar that the Lotus team dedicated both free practice sessions on Friday to testing the long wheelbase car with Kimi Raikkonen and then electing to pursue it further this morning.

The final top ten shoot-out could not have worked out better for Red Bull if they had scripted it themselves. Untroubled be the rest of the pretenders Vettel and Webber locked out the front row of the grid for the 20th time.

Ferrari’s ‘towing’ system didn’t quite go to plan in the final minutes of the session much to the displeasure of Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard could be heard during the run telling his team that Felipe Massa was too far ahead of him to gain an advantage from the tow. Sky F1 later reported that the former world champion allegedly told his team: “You are stupid, you are all stupid, you wrecked my qualifying.” Felipe Massa out qualified his teammate.

The undoubted star of qualifying was Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg who miraculously qualified third on the grid for tomorrow’s race. Nico Rosberg, Daniel Ricciardo, Sergio Perez, Jenson Button and Jean-Eric Vergne rounded out the top ten.

September 7, 2013