Massa in front – but for how long?
Mid-way through 2005, a particularly striking article in racing magazine Autosport grabbed my attention. Now I can’t recall the headline from the top of my head, but the cynical author in question wanted somebody to inform him why a respectable team like Ferrari had signed an erratic 24-year-old with no wins, no podiums, and less than 30 F1 points to his name for their 2006 campaign.
It beggared belief really, why the most successful Formula One team in history had opted for background wallflower Felipe Massa, instead of a proven older driver with race wins and consistency in his pocket. But secretly I was pleased for the young Brazilian, as I knew the Ferrari deal would give him a real chance to prove exactly what he was capable of on the F1 grid.
Ever since his Ferrari debut in Bahrain 2006, Massa has consistently finished the championship inside the top five. The only exception, of course, is last season, when his Hungaroring accident put him out of action for the remaining eight rounds. Even then he was 11th in the final standings, having notched up world championship points in the last five races prior to his near-fatal collision with a suspension spring. His maturity into a world-class driver since those rollercoaster Sauber days is visible for all to see, and it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that his fan following almost eclipses that of late countryman Ayrton Senna.
Felipe fans everywhere will never forget the nail-biting affair of Brazil 2008, by which time the world championship had been taken well and truly to the wire. Massa sat seven points adrift of Mclaren’s Lewis Hamilton, with the Brazilian requiring a win or a second to clinch it permitting that Hamilton didn’t make the top five. The title was solidly in Massa’s hands, until the final corner when Timo Glock’s ailing fifth-placed Toyota slowed down enough to allow a charging Hamilton through. For the second year running, the title had been snatched by a single point; and for the record, it wasn’t completely his fault but I’ve never quite forgiven Glock.
And now, after three rounds of 2010, Massa leads the championship for the scarlet wonders. He’s two points ahead of both Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso, and four in front of Jenson Button and Nico Rosberg. It’s all to play for at this crucial early stage. Perennial championship rival Lewis Hamilton has 31 points to Massa’s 39, with Renault’s Robert Kubica just behind the Briton on 30. One has to wonder if the ever-optimistic Brazilian will be able to retain a bulldog-like grip on his early advantage and run with it to Abu Dhabi. Mclaren have shown that they are certainly a force to be reckoned with if the conditions are right, while team mate Alonso scored strongly with a win and a fourth in the opening events. Vettel, Rosberg and Kubica are all doggedly determined racers, and Massa will have his work cut out to fight off the surging field behind him.
After the three title battles he’s already lost, Felipe deserves all the glory this year. It’s his fifth season racing with Ferrari, and he’s settled in better than anyone thought he would. Schumacher won a title five years after joining the Italian giants – wouldn’t it be nice if his successor could do the same?
Join me and Victoria on Formula1FanCast.com’s Fantasy League Formula 1 2010. Our league is called Formula1Fancast.com and the league pin is 722. Try and beat us if you can, but be warned we’re good!
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Since his move to Ferrari, Felipe Massa has done a terrific job and was so unlucky not to be crowned World Champion in front of his home crowd in 2008.
Whether he can stay at the front for the rest of the season is too early to say. Ferrari have won 1 race, Red Bull have won 1 race and so have McLaren. It is literally wide open and anyone from Red Bull, Ferrari or McLaren could be World Champion.