Perez

[Mr Men]

Speaking of Massa, didn't he have 3 seasons at Sauber plus a year of testing before the second Ferrari seat?

Yeah he done a season with Sauber, then a year as Ferrari test driver before going back to Sauber for 2 seasons.

 

[Indy500]

Yeah he done a season with Sauber, then a year as Ferrari test driver before going back to Sauber for 2 seasons.

He looked pretty decent against MS in 2006 too, actually beating him a few times and outdoing his highly-rated Renault counterpart (Fisichella) over the season.

Massa takes an unreasonable amount of flak for the heinous crime of not being as quick as Alonso. There are less drivers than you'd think who could do a better job in the second Ferrari.

I haven't seen anyone do so badly (relative to the no.1 driver at Ferrari) since Eddie Irvine in 1996-7. Even then he still picked up podiums. Same with Barrichello in 2005.

Those iterations of the car were hindered by poor reliability and duff tyres as well, Felipe has no such excuse. I don't think it's a Germany 2010 thing: his results in the three races prior were 15th, 11th and 15th. Not an accident issue either, given that he finished 2nd and 3rd in his first two races back.

 

[arknor]

they could always get rubens back he was much closer to schumacher than massa ever was

 

[Mr Men]

I guess you missed the 2005 season? Rubens was only ever close when the car was totally dominant.

 

[The_Abyss]

just how accurate is a simulators representation of a drivers skill level? the best drivers have always relied on feeling and sound to let them know they are on the edge.

does a simulator realistically give this information to the driver?

some people might be lighting quick in sims and computer games but not so great in the real thing

Simulators don't have Grosjean and Maldonado in them.

 

[kaiowas]

I haven't seen anyone do so badly (relative to the no.1 driver at Ferrari) since Eddie Irvine in 1996-7. Even then he still picked up podiums. Same with Barrichello in 2005.

Those iterations of the car were hindered by poor reliability and duff tyres as well, Felipe has no such excuse. I don't think it's a Germany 2010 thing: his results in the three races prior were 15th, 11th and 15th. Not an accident issue either, given that he finished 2nd and 3rd in his first two races back.

In terms of results his performances look poor but that's largely due to the increased competiveness of the rest of the field. Up until the last 2-3 seasons, F1 over the last 20 years has generally had 1-2 quick teams and a bunch of also rans. Podiums were almost guaranteed if you were in one of those quick teams. Nowadays you've got 5-6 teams challenging for a podium and even the defending world champion is struggling to get more than a point or two on a bad day.

Massas gap to Alonso in terms of time isn't really any worse than previous Ferrari number 2 drivers.

 

[FrankJH]

Massa takes an unreasonable amount of flak for the heinous crime of not being as quick as Alonso. There are less drivers than you'd think who could do a better job in the second Ferrari.

its not just being slower - its the amount of time he is slower, as much in the races as in quali.

I would be suprirsed if there are as many as a handful of weekends this season so far where Massa has actually got out of the Ferrari what its capable of (even compared to a relatively inexperienced driver as Perez)

 

[Mr Men]

its not just being slower - its the amount of time he is slower, as much in the races as in quali.

I would be suprirsed if there are as many as a handful of weekends this season so far where Massa has actually got out of the Ferrari what its capable of (even compared to a relatively inexperienced driver as Perez)

Same as Jenson then