Domenicali: The toughest part of Felipe’s career is now behind him
16 January, 2013
Felipe Massa frolics in the snow at Wrooom
In 2012, Ferrari endured a campaign of criticism, from the vocal and influential Italian media, as the team kept faith in Felipe Massa, but the Brazilian turned around his performances, upon which he was granted a contract extension by the team. Stefano Domenicali believes that this was the correct decision.
Speaking during a mamoth session with the media at the Wrooom media event at Madonna di Campiglio, the Ferrari team principal said, “I think the toughest part of Felipe’s career is now behind him. After last summer, his approach turned about and as a result, his performance on track changed and he managed to show just how talented he is. I’m sure that his problem was not linked to his contractual situation.”
Massa has been a part of the Ferrari ‘family’ for a decade, starting at Ferrari-powered Sauber in 2002 and also serving as a Ferrari tester before joining as a race driver in 2006 and staying on after Michael Schumacher’s first retirement.
The Brazilian was runner-up in the 2008 championship to Hamilton by a single point and has won 11 grands prix with Ferrari, his last coming in Brazil at the end of 2008.
Domenicali recalls the stress: “Personally, there was a lot of pressure on me regarding possible changes, but in the interests of the team, I preferred to wait, and today, I’m convinced that keeping Felipe in the Ferrari family was the right decision.”
The turning point for Massa was perhaps Hungary. From then on he scored in all the remaining ten rounds of the championships with the highlight being his second place finish in Japan – his best result since July 2010 when he was runner-up in Germany and his first top-three finish since he was third in South Korea in October 2010.
It is also no secret that Massa will play second fiddle in the team if need be, and he has a good relationship with Alonso. Thus in October last year Ferrari confirmed the Brazilian for 2013.
“His performance in the second half of the season contributed significantly to our second place in the constructors’ classification: for the team that is a strong point and for Fernando, it provides further impetus to try even harder,” acknowledged Domenicali. (Apex)
Subbed by AJN.
Related posts:
- Domenicali: Massa needs strong results for rest of season
- Domenicali: Massa knows what he has to do for Ferrari
- Domenicali: We are aligned with Felipe and we want to protect him
- Domenicali warns Massa that his Ferrari future is at stake
- Massa ditches trip home to be at Maranello as career crisis deepens
yeah, until the next spring.
boing
Not a Ferrari fan, but the way he was able to endure a tough part of the season and still come back and produce great race results despite being the obvious number 3. Truly remarkable. i thought the poor chap had lost his mojo to be quite honest. Way to go Massa!
I am guessing that when he gets dropped by Ferrari, that will be his toughest part of his career.
It was a good decision to keep Felipe for at least one more season. He really showed great pace at the end of last season and I really hope that his great progress will continue in 2013 season. Besides he’s such a nice guy, I wish him all the best.
im happy they have kept him ..
YUP….