Why Felipe Massa Shouldn't Fall into the F1 Abyss

If anybody reading this entry has read previous entries, then they will know I am a huge fan of Felipe Massa. The formality of him leaving Ferrari at the end of the year still saddens me. My major fear about this popular little Brazilian is that he will fall into the F1 abyss like many other popular drivers such as Heikki Kovalainen, Jerome d’Ambrosio and Jamie Alguersuari. In this entry, I will look at the reasons that F1 teams should be doing all they can to sign Massa up for a 2014 drive.

Before his eight year spell with the Scuderia, Massa was at what could be called Ferrari’s junior team, Sauber. Massa made his debut with Sauber in 2002 where he scored 4 points in his first season, with a best finish of 5^th at the Spanish GP. He showed his competitiveness, but did make several mistakes. He earned a one race suspension which meant he missed the US GP. He returned for the Japanese GP, but was subsequently dropped by the team for the 2003 season, however he moved to Ferrari as their test driver. Massa re-signed for Sauber in 2004 scoring 12 points with a best finish of 4^th at the Belgian GP. His steady season earned him a second consecutive year at Sauber in 2005, where he scored 11 points and outpaced Jacques Villeneuve and beat him in the drivers’ standings. He got his big break the year after with Ferrari, partnering 7 times World Champion, Michael Schumacher.

During his first season at Ferrari, he scored 80 points and finished third in the title race behind champion Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher. It was a year that Massa was to be mentored by Schumacher, to try and help cut out the driver errors. Evidence of nerves could be seen during some races during the season such as in Bahrain, where he spun several times. He also crashed his Ferrari in Australia during both qualifying and the race itself. Despite all of this, Schumacher's influence could be seen as Massa scored his first pole position and victory at the Turkish GP. My personal favourite memory of his debut season at Ferrari was his victory at his home Brazilian GP in front of his adoring fans. He was the first Brazilian to win at Brazil since Ayrton Senna.

Schumacher left the team and Massa was partnered by Kimi Raikkonen, his team mate at Sauber in 2002. Massa seemed a much more complete driver, especially during pre-season testing where he looked on brilliant form. When it came to the opening race of the season, Massa suffered a gearbox problem during qualifying and started last, however he still managed to come home in 6^th. Problems continued into Malaysia where he was overtaken by the two McLaren's, despite starting on pole position. Massa attacked Hamilton and went wide, which meant he finished 5^th. His luck and form picked up as he won back to back races in Bahrain and Spain, both from pole position. He won the Turkish GP again and scored another 6 podiums. His team player image was first seen at Ferrari when he yielded the lead of the Brazilian GP to allow Kimi Raikkonen to win the World Championship.

So onto 2008. This without doubt, was Massa’s best year in F1. It all started wrong for Felipe again as he retired from the first two races, both by spinning out. People began to question if Massa was up to the job of racing at the sharp end of the grid without the assist of traction control. Massa silenced his critics in the best way possible. He dominated the entire weekend in Bahrain, only to have pole position snatched away by Robert Kubica. However, this didn’t stop Massa’s awesome pace in the race. Massa had Kubica by the first corner and went onto a dominant win. He scored another brilliant podium in Spain and went onto record his 3^rd consecutive victory in Turkey and started to gather real momentum.

He carried this momentum into Monaco, where he amazed himself by sticking his car on pole position. He started brilliantly and led by 15 seconds in the rain before the safety car came out and took out his lead. After the safety car, Massa pulled away again before he ran off at the first corner and lost the lead. He eventually finished her 3^rd behind his title rival Lewis Hamilton and Kubica. A fifth place in Canada, followed by a win in France meant he led the drivers’ championship, the first time a Brazilian had led the championship since Senna. The next two races saw Massa score zero points as he spun an amazing 5 times at the British GP, and retired from the lead of the Hungarian GP with only 3 laps left. The European GP saw Massa make his 100^th start in F1 and went onto win the race, making him the only driver to date to win on his 100^th start. He was awarded the win in Belgium after his main rival Hamilton was penalised 25 seconds for cutting the final chicane.  Points came his way in Italy before a pointless finish in Singapore meant he was 7 points behind Hamilton. At the Chinese GP, Massa’s stance as number 1 for the season could be seen as Raikkonen yielded 2^nd to Massa to ensure he could keep his title hopes alive.

The final race of the season was held in front of his adoring fans in Brazil, with Massa 7 points behind Hamilton. It was simple for Massa, he had to win or finish second, and for Hamilton for finish lower than 5^th. It started fantastically for Massa, qualifying on pole, with Hamilton fourth. Massa blew everyone away with his performance and won by 13 seconds. His part was done. Felipe Massa was World Champion for 38 seconds. His title was cruelly taken away as Lewis Hamilton overtook Timo Glock at the second last corner for 5^th place and the title by a single point. He was praised left right and centre by everyone and his maturity was praised by Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo. All in all, Massa managed 6 victories and 6 pole positions.

After all the highs of the previous three seasons, 2009 would ultimately see the downfall of Felipe Massa. A poor, uncompetitive Ferrari at the beginning of the year meant the Brazilian couldn’t relive the form of 2008. It was the middle of the season at the Hungarian GP where Massa could have lost his life. He was struck in the head at 180mph by a spring that fell off the back of the Brawn Mercedes of Rubens Barrichello. It would see Massa miss the rest of the season and return in 2010 to partner Fernando Alonso. Despite what Massa said, I believe that his head injury played a part in his below-par 2010 season. He did lead the German GP before being told to move over for Alonso. I also believe this was hard for Massa to take and psychologically destroyed Massa’s confidence. This form continued into 2011. He was continually out-performed by Alonso again and was caught up in many high profile incidents with Hamilton. 2012 started off poorly for Massa before he managed to keep place with Alonso in the second half of the season, even out-qualifying the Spaniard occasionally. He was awarded a new one year deal for 2013. 2013 saw Massa start just as strong as he ended 2012, out-qualifying Alonso and looking as though he had re-captured his 2008 form. However his form faded and Ferrari announced that Massa would be replaced by Raikkonen for 2014.

So there you have it. Eight years at the oldest F1 team have ended. Looking back at his career, Massa deserved so much more. In my opinion Massa deserved the title in 2008 and had he won that, I believe that he could have achieved even more. The end of 2012 and beginning of this year, we saw the old Massa back in action. Unfortunately this form couldn’t be kept up, and it’s now time for a change. I believe Massa still has enough to offer a top team in 2014, possibly Lotus? Only time will tell if he gets another shot, or fall into the F1 abyss.