ok, ok, let me get this straight? ... you already DO have your driverslicence? .... Are you awake? Are you hypnotised? ... drunk? .... stoned ?.... all can be!

Let me spell this out for you;

Schumacher and Ferrari were always a 1 horse campaign, 9 months BEFORE the very 1st race of the season was even driven ! !!!



OMG .... am I educating here? .... Oooh no no no .... don't let it be ....

Just three words - Way Too Early...

Let them battle out till some 4-5 races to go, then if, and only if, one driver is some 10+ points behind, then they MAYBE should back the leading driver.

The year 1999 was already mentioned. Little excurse in the history. It was French GP if I remember correctly where Schumi had some car problem and he drived some 3-4 secs slower than others. Meanwhile Irvine was on Ralfs gearbox and about to overtake him when both catched Michael. Ralf easily passed his brother but Irvine was told to stay behind Michael to "maximise Ferrari's WDC chances" and give Schumi one extra point by sacrifying Irvine's two points (it was very likely that Eddie would have passed Ralf). In next GP Schumi broke his leg and suddenly Ferrari realise, that they need to back Eddie for the title... In the end Eddie lost WDC by two points, yes, those very same two points that were denied to him by his own team in order to back Michaels championship bid. (Even if Eddie wouldnt get past Ralf, he would have get one point more by overtaking Michael and by swapping positions at Japan GP, where Ferrrai run 2-3, Irvine still would have one point more than Mika).

That happens, if you put all eggs in one basket too early. You may benefit, but you may also lose, and lose big time.

Flame bait . Thanks God the targets of this atempt are not biting.

This is true. Raikkonen traditionally performs better in the second half of the season.

Ferrari should not think about internal power games, but about their strategy and pitcrew work.

Monza is a fine time to decide about which driver to push for the title.

Hmmm, I don't know why , but i get an underlying assumption that people think that Massa cannot really bring home the bacon. I see another Rubens in the making - Massa will always be the No 2 to Kimi and if Alonso joins Ferrari in 2010 then to him.

Yeah, my impression too. But in order to stay this long he will have to accept that. Otherwise he's gonna bin WCC now and then.

rubens was never this close or faster than michael...on the other hand kimi is not michael, not even close
massa can deliver...in the last 2 races he put down some miths:
1) massa can't drive in the wet
2) massa is sh*t in monaco
3) massa can't pass

well, for some people it still is not enough

both ferrari drivers can deliver, none should get the backing of the team yet. let them race

Why?

Massa has been more or less on par with Räikkönen this year. True, in Canada KR looked better and had great chances to build points lead. But now, thanks to Lewis, FM got "free points" in comparison to his teammate. As long as Felipe can keep up with Kimi, there is no reason to accept #2 status. If he can beat Kimi, that´s #1 status immediately after Kimi loses his mathematical chances for the WDC.

A = No


Their fight has been too close, and defined by small details, for that to happen now.

I think the best thing for Ferrari is to stick to that rule, in which the fastest driver in q2 can chose to go lighter or heavier in q3.

OK, Massa has made fewer, less silly/costly mistakes than Kimi then.

NO, Kimi is was much faster than Massa in Canada and is more reliable.
Beying hit by Lewis was not his fault.

Fastest lap / lap
Massa 1:18.006 / 11
Kimi 1:17.387 / 14

Kimi made was fastest - at least by 0.6 sec - than Massa even though h still had fuel in his tank, while Massa eventually ran w/ empty tanks.

Yet is only a couple of points behind. And, most likely, is only behind because of anothers mistake.

You are aware that Massa had to run at Alonsos pace until SC?

Massa had plenty of free track after he got the re-refueling. Ok?

Ok!

Hotwheels, the gap between Massa and Kimi is 3 points. Dont u think ur being a bit too early in launching this thread with less than half the season gone?

I wouldnt think about it even if it was 10 points.... and Kimi ahead of Philipe.

best overtaking move of the year so far..

They were about equal in "luck department" before Canada. Engine failure for both in Melb, strategy errors for both in Monaco, etc. They were neck by neck in WDC points as well, reflecting the fact that overall there hasn´t been much or anything between Ferrari pilots in 2008.

Really? In Australia he was fighting for front positions when he spun in first corner and had to pit for new nose - mechanical DNF saved his face though, but it doesnt change the fact it was very costly mistake. In Malaysia he threw away 8 points by spun. In Monaco he lost 2 points when he drove wide and let Kubica pass him.

Kimi hasnt been error free either this year, but its nonsense to say Massa has done less silly/costly mistakes.

Too early to just yet, he is only about 3 points ahead of Kimi

Ferrari should back Ferrari-powered Sutil for the championship NOW.

Its not nonesense - they've been anbout equal in the error dept as well as the results.. From the ones you mentioned only Malaysia was costly (8 points).. In Aus he had a DNF just like Kimi did after his two spins and in Monaco he reclaim his position back after the first pit stops.

Yeah, strange thread. I think the motivation behind this thread is something other than the actual topic says. Anyway, no mistakes? Missed Sepang altogether then?

it's not a strange thread, it's just a flame starting thread. (apologies if not).

Personally I don't see a problem in Ferrari (or any team, for that matter) 'backing' both its drivers for the Drivers Championship. I'm also not sure how a team can actually 'favour' one driver over another - gone are the days when a team may have had one 'good' car and one 'not so good one'. Strategy-wise, I believe most teams allow their drivers (in conjuction with their own car boss) to chose their own strategies? The Manufacturers Championship should remain the prime objective for every team, but it seems Ferrari are the only team to agree with me; and long may they do so; thus preserving their unique status among the remainder of the 'assemblers'.
The furore after the Barrichello/Schumacher Austrian GP 'fiasco' made me laugh, as I can remember, with fondness, the times when a 'number 2' driver was instructed to give his car to the number 1 driver DURING the race, if necessary. If only GPs were of sufficient duration to do that now
If the situation arises, towards the end of this season, when it is only possible for one of a teams drivers to challenge for the Drivers Championship; and if that team were running one-two at the time, I have no problem with no.2 slowing down for no.1 to pass - in fact I'd be grossly disappointed if he didn't. The problem, if there is one, would squarely rest with all the other teams.The hue and cry from the media after Austria, claiming the spectacle of F1 had been somehow tainted was absurd. The spectacle had already been tainted and watered-down, and with much more damage, over the years by the governing body and their successive 'spectacle-improving' rule changes.

Just my personal opinion, of course.........as is the 2005 USA GP as the best spectacle of modern times

Obviously not.

Do you reallt think that this is true for Maclaren? Not seems to me that HK y receiving the same treatment than LH.

oz gp comes to mind. massa failed to make it past the second corner without an unforced error

Word mate.

Ok. But after SC Raikkonen wasn't there any more to get an useful pace comparison with Massa. Ok?

Yes, but he was clearly fastest in the track before he was taken out. Massa was far from that level at every point of the race to be honest.

Yeah right. Raikkonen was fastest on the track for the course of exactly four successive laps - lap 12-15. And that's all.

He said he had first problems with his left front tyre graining at early laps, but since the graing stopped he felt car was extremely fast (as was proved by lap times).

I don't doubt that for a second.

Why these kind of pointless threads be deleted......seriously

I guess I am going by my memory of whether the mistakes also cost other competitors--has Massa had any mistakes which also hurt the chances of other competitors? If so, please advise and I am happy to stand corrected by knowing the full data.

Thanks.

The gap increases from 3 TO 5. IMO thsi is the best chance Massa has . He is driving well and Ferrari should back 1 horse now.

Ferrari for MASSA

Yeah right, Ferrari should start sawing Kimi´s exhausts off in every race in order to get Felipe to win ;) I really don´t think that those discussion are in order somewhere closer to October - any which way

Interesting situation. After Monaco, KR & FM were neck by neck, both in terms of points and performance. In next two races KR performed better but got more than his fair share of bad luck. Obviously there will be no #1 treatment for quite some time. I have no clue why this thread exists ATM.

No. It's too early too judge.

Why would any team do that when not half the season is played???

Half season is 9 races, past half is once tenth race is over...

It's funny how F1 works sometimes... It was only a handful of races ago that it was being discussed that perhaps Ferrari should dump Massa before the season is even done...

And now, Massa leads the DC...

Go figure...

(It also shows how this musta been one helluva season so far, when you witness how Massa's first turn in F1 2008 went straight into the wall with no TC to save him...)

Ferrari should back both of his drivers, and I'm sure they will, but this can be bad for them...
If McLaren had backed one of their drivers last year (doesn't matter which one) they would have won the WDC definetely.
Could easily happen this year too, Massa and Kimi taking away points from each other and Hamilton winning the WDC...

OT: Had this been Schumi driving, he would likely win all the races. Based on current position, barring any mishaps, he would likely take all the poles and would likely dominate Massa/ Kimi. It even worse than 2002/ 2004 domination.

Anyway, I just don't understand, what is the benefit of getting the support of being de facto WDC contender? IF your teammate could qualify faster than you, and could race stronger than you, nothing could help you. Overall, Kimi and Massa is about equal in performance and in making mistakes. If press hard, I would take Massa as slightly better in qualifying, and Kimi is slightly better in race. Except for last year, Kimi had better luck than Massa.

Whatever, Massa has shown us here, he has created his best chances to win this year WDC. IMO Massa doesn't need any preferences status. He is fast enough to beat Kimi.

I doubt a 5-points difference near half of the c'ship is enough for Ferrari to promote any of their drivers to #1 position.
Specially when it seems Maranello still has a tenth or so of second ahead of McLarens, BMWs and Renaults.

True. Schumi would have jumped out of the car in Melbourne and fixed that engine problem on the spot. He would have won in Canada as well, despite of Hamilton thingy. Naturally minor damage in French GP would have been non-issue.

And of course, teammate-cross comparisons tell us the truth (Hill/JV/HHF, Kimi/JPM/Ralf/Trulli/Alonso, etc). This is how we can tell how fast Schummy would have been in fantasy world where he didn´t retire after the 2006 season.

Enough with "had Schumi been driving" crap