The forthcoming season is unquestionably an important one for Ferrari, and with just a few days to go until the launch of their 2012 car, the team’s race drivers have been completing their winter training programme in Lanzarote. The specialist pre-season training camp, in sunnier climes to the traditional northern European winter, has long been a staple of many teams’ preparations ahead of a new season, giving them the chance to put their drivers through some rigorous exercises as well as providing an opportunity for team building. Ferrari have chosen the Canary island for their training camp in recent days, More…

Felipe Massa appeared at the Ferrari Wrooom media event in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy today, knowing that his back is against the wall and 2012 could be his final year with the team if he doesn’t raise his game significantly. Two lacklustre campaigns have left the Brazilian vulnerable and both Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo and team boss Stefano Domenicali have spelled out that he is fighting to save his job. Interestingly, the Ferrari website presents a stark picture in its story on Massa’s appearance in Madonna and puts Massa’s position in these terms, “Felipe Massa’s future depends on what More…

The feud which has simmered between Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa this season, often flaring into an on track clash, has been put to an end by Hamilton visiting Massa after the race to make up. The Brazilian was finishing off his press briefing at the front of the Ferrari hospitality area when Hamilton approached him and gave him a hug and said a few words. It is not clear whether Hamilton felt moved to make some kind of apology or just a gesture to say that he wanted to put the events behind them. But either way, Massa, who More…

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has given Felipe Massa notice that he is fighting to save his seat with the team next year. Montezemolo used an interview on a show in Italy called Politica nel Pallone to confirm that the Brazilian, who almost won the world title three years ago, is safe for next year despite an “unfortunate season” but that he must prove himself to stay with the team beyond next year. “With Massa we have a contract for next year. He’s had an unfortunate season but we aren’t doubting a driver who three years ago fought for the More…

Felipe Massa spoke around 90 minutes after the Indian Grand Prix in which he was penalised with a drive through for colliding with Lewis Hamilton. It was the sixth occasion the pair have collided in a bitter season. Speaking after the race Massa said, “I don’t have anything against him. Zero. If I saw him I would tell him what I’m telling you now. “I don’t understand why I have the penalty. I braked later than him, I was in front and on the grippier part of the circuit and I didn’t see him on the left. So he was More…

The aftermath of the collision between Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa at Singapore shows no signs of abating. Immediately after the race we had Massa attempting to confront the Englishman, who rebuffed him in front of the TV cameras at the track. Then there came the suggestion that the F1 drivers want to meet with FIA Race Director Charlie Whiting in Suzuka this weekend to discuss Hamilton’s overly aggressive driving. Then at the weekend F1.com ran a race edit featuring a radio clip of Massa’s race engineer Rob Smedley urging his driver to,”Hold Hamilton as much as we can. Destroy More…

There’s an awkward interview in El Pais, the leading Spanish daily paper, which was done during the Spa weekend with Felipe Massa and which slipped under the radar. Reading it through, it seems very familiar; a newspaper goes to interview the underachieving team mate of its national hero and asks him how he feels about being beaten by their man. For Massa in this scenario you could insert any driver down the years who has found himself paired with an ace. However Massa is slightly different in that he was a contender; 11 times a Grand Prix winner, he almost More…

With this weekend being the 20th anniversary of Michael Schumacher’s debut in F1, there have been tributes aplenty from fellow drivers but none more effusive than from his great rival of the mid 2000s, Fernando Alonso. “I have great respect for him, he’s one of the greatest or the greatest in our sport,” said Alonso. “The numbers are there and impossible to repeat for us. It’s been a great pleasure to drive with him all these years. I will always remember all the battles with him. It was a priviledge to drive against Michael Schumacher. “He decided to stop and More…

Ferrari, 5 wins, 2 poles, 3rd in Constructors’ Championship There are so many ways to look at the story of Ferrari’s 2010 season, but let’s start with the helicopter view, the overview in other words. Ferrari hires Alonso (finally) gives him a winning car and despite a few mistakes he establishes himself as clear number one, takes the chances, wins races and then loses the title at the last round due to a bad mistake on strategy by his team. The inescapable conclusion from this is that Alonso owed Ferrari one after his early season mistakes, but he made good. More…

There is a lot of attention on Felipe Massa at the moment, despite the fact that he is not a contender for the World Championship. He has been the subject of speculation about whether he will retain his drive next year, while recently he has received encouraging words from Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo, which is a mixed blessing, like a chairman’s “vote of confidence” in a football manager. The Ferrari website has identified his “key role” in the next three races and he himself has said that “the best thing I can do to help Ferrari’s and Fernando’s aspirations.” More…

Today is a big day for Ferrari as they will appear before the World Motor Sort Council to answer charges relating to violation of the rules regarding team orders in F1. This relates to an incident at the German Grand Prix in July, where Felipe Massa allowed Fernando Alonso through to win the race after receiving the message from his race engineer, “Fernando is faster than you”. In Germany the race stewards examined the matter and were satisfied that a team order had been used, which violates Article 39.1 of the Sporting Regulations. The team was fined $100,000 and referred More…

There has been a lot of chat online and in the comments section of this site these past few days about Felipe Massa’s start in Spa. The Brazilian parked his car ahead of the grid slot he was supposed to take up and thus gained a small advantage from it, certainly over a metre. The FIA’s detection devices didn’t pick it up and he ran his race as normal. Having started sixth on the grid, he was fifth on the first lap, one of the drivers able to take advantage of Mark Webber’s poor start. What is supposed to happen More…

Team orders returned to the top of the agenda in Formula 1 today as Fernando Alonso took the win in the German Grand Prix thanks to his team mate Felipe Massa letting him through in the closing stages, despite leading the race from the start. It is a tough moment for Massa and a hard call for the team to have to make. Although the message was coded it was unmistakeably a team order, which are banned in F1. The team will also know that Massa’s motivation will have been torpedoed by this moment. It was Alonso’s second win of More…

Felipe Massa has been retained by Ferrari for the 2011 and 2012 seasons, it was announced today. With the Brazilian’s contract set to expire at the end of the season, there were rumours that his seat may be up for grabs. Robert Kubica’s name was linked with the drive, as was Mark Webber’s. Prior to the Turkey GP team boss Stefano Domenicali said that he would retain both drivers for next season. “I am happy to be given the opportunity to drive for Ferrari for a further two seasons,” said Massa in a statement. “Throughout my entire Formula 1 career, More…

Today has seen the bosses of Red Bull and Ferrari give strong hints that they will be keeping the same driver line up for next season. First Ferrari’s Stefano Domenicali said Felipe Massa was likely to be given an extension in an interview with my old sparring partner Martin Brundle on the BBC. “Yes I think so,” he said responding to Martin’s question would Ferrari retain its drivers. When Martin asked if he was “sure” he said “Yes” Massa has had a difficult start to the season and has been outpaced by team mate Fernando Alonso so far. But he More…

This weekend at the Turkish Grand Prix a lot of attention is likely to fall on Felipe Massa. A three times winner of the Istanbul race, this is a weekend when he needs to show that he still has it in him to take Ferrari to the winner’s circle and to run his team mate Fernando Alonso close. If Red Bull still has a big margin over the rest, as is expected, then Massa’s minimum task is to beat Alonso. He should have great confidence he can achieve this on a track which he “owns” and where he even had More…

It has long been rumoured but now it’s official – Jean Todt’s son Nicolas is launching a bid to run his own F1 team, taking his highly successful GP2 team ART GP into the sport’s highest category. With the failure of USF1, there is a 13th slot on the grid for next season and the FIA is inviting applications from teams wishing to fill that slot. Stefan GP has indicated its intention to apply, but Dave Richards’ Prodrive outfit and Lola have both said that they will not. As with last year’s applicants, teams will be subjected to a financial More…

Felipe Massa looked rather dejected all weekend. He was asked after the race by Italian colleagues whether this was because of the rumours that Ferrari was thinking of replacing him with Robert Kubica, “I’m not happy because the whole winter test I was 110% happy with the car the way I drive. I started the first race and I was 120% happy with the car. We did a great job in the first race. The last four races have been harder tyres than Bahrain and I can’t use them like I want, I need to understand, I’m a little bit More…

Fernando Alonso has been speaking about life at Ferrari in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. The Spaniard has claimed Michael Schumacher’s decision to turn his back on Ferrari in favour of a return to Formula 1 with Mercedes GP has helped him settle in more quickly with Italian team. Alonso, who won the season opener in Bahrain and currently lies third in the championship with 49 points, is clearly enjoying competing at the front again after spending two relatively uncompetitive seasons at Renault and feels the absence of Schumacher, both as a driver and Ferrari team consultant, More…

We are half way through the official testing season and there are many interesting story lines emerging. Everyone is looking to get a feel for who’s ahead, but as I posted a few days ago, I’m inclined to believe the engineers I speak to who say that it’s looking pretty close and there is no outstanding car this season. Looking back over the first two tests, though, I am struck by a human interest story most of all. Felipe Massa is back in business. In fact so strong has the little Brazilian been over the last two weeks, that it’s More…

This weekend has been quite low key in anticipation of a big week ahead. It’s the quiet before the storm. Tomorrow Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg will pull the covers off the first Mercedes F1 car for 55 years and by next Sunday we will know what three of the main contenders for the world championship look like; Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren. And then testing will begin and the new season will be up and running. It’s all about to kick off. But there have been a few points worth noting this weekend, as we gear up for the action, More…

Felipe Massa is set to test a 2008 Ferrari at Barcelona on Friday. He will take the car over from Valentino Rossi, who has been enjoying another taste of F1 power this week. Ferrari are able to do this because the car is now two years old, which is the embargo set by the testing committee to protect against new technology. The car is now part of the stable of cars managed by Ferrari’s F1 Clienti department, which looks after old F1 cars for its wealthy customers. No other team does this and it’s quite an undertaking to maintain all More…

After Fernando Alonso and Stefano Domenicali, it was Felipe Massa’s turn to speak today at the Ferrari event in Madonna di Campiglio. He talked of various things, but I was interested in what he said about his relationship with new team mate Fernando Alonso, the support he got from Ferrari and about fatherhood. Although Alonso has been the headline act this week, with Domenicali speaking of his arrival at Ferrari as possibly heralding a “new era”, Massa is newsworthy too. His return from a potentially career ending injury is one of the great human interest stories of the 2010 season. More…

Ferrari is hosting its annual media and sponsor event in the Italian ski resort Madonna di Campiglio this week and that means that there will be plenty of Ferrari-related headlines for the next few days. Today it was the turn of team principal Stefano Domenicali to speak. He talked about Ferrari’s need to get back to the front of the grid, he spoke about the importance of fuel consumption this season, now that refuelling is banned and he talked about history, recent history. “Let’s not forget Fernando is the only driver on the track who in his career has beaten More…

Felipe Massa is playing an interesting game at the moment, with regards to his team mate for next season, Fernando Alonso. First at a lunch for Brazilian journalists yesterday in Sao Paolo, he claimed that Alonso must have known about the Singapore crash plot, even though he was cleared of involvement by the FIA, “Fernando knew, ” he said. “Of course he knew, I’m 100% certain of that. In a team it is impossible not to know the strategy of the other driver.” Many of the drivers say the same thing privately, but have not wanted to say it publicly. More…

Today Felipe Massa did his first laps in a Formula 1 car since the horrific accident in July, which threatened his career. The Brazilian drove a privately owned 2007 car, fitted with Bridgestone GP2 tyres and covered 100kms on the team’s Fiorano test track, next to the factory in Maranello. He will do more laps tomorrow. Ferrari described it as ‘not a proper test’, rather as ‘a way to regain confidence with his natural habitat; the racetrack.’ But Massa’s return is a victory in itself. He has overcome a savage accident which had the potential not only to destroy his More…

Ferrari has put out a statement confirming that Felipe Massa will drive an F2007 Ferrari tomorrow at its Fiorano test track, but has stressed that together with the team, Massa has come to the conclusion that his best interests would be served by not trying to race again this season at the final event in Abu Dhabi. I have to say that this looks like a smart move. Prior to flying over to Europe a week ago, Massa was reported by Brazilian colleagues to be determined to drive in the final race. But having undergone some training and two days More…

Felipe Massa came through the first day of medical tests in Paris yesterday, with the doctors confirming that his eyesight has not be affected by the accident he suffered in July when he was hit in the forehead with a 700 gramme metal spring. “Today Felipe Massa started a series of neurological and ophthalmological exams by the FIA at the Pitié Salpetrière hospital in Paris, ” announced Ferrari, “Part of the Brazilian driver’s recovery programme after the accident in Budapest on 25 July. Today’s exams ended at 7:30pm and will restart tomorrow afternoon. The first outcomes are positive: especially the More…

Felipe Massa arrived back at Maranello yesterday, some two months after the accident which threatened his career. The Brazilian is anxious to get back into a car and race again as soon as possible, but team boss Stefano Domenicali, who managed to beat most of the F1 paddock back to Europe by at least half a day, said again that the team is “not in a hurry” Massa understandably wants to re-establish himself solidly at the team before Fernando Alonso arrives. The date of Alonso’s release from Renault has not yet been decided, but Ferrari would like it to be More…

More is beginning to emerge about the comeback plan of Felipe Massa. The Brazilian arrives in Italy tomorrow for two weeks of physical training, evaluation and preparation. Ferrari say that he will go on the simulator in the factory, to test out his reactions and get back into the swing of things. “Our main target is to make sure that everything is okay from the physical point of view,” said team boss Stefano Domenicali. “We asked the FIA to make sure that there is no breach of the sporting and testing regulations. This gave us clearance to do the test. More…

Felipe Massa has hit out on Brazilian TV, claiming that he was ‘robbed’ of last year’s drivers world title because Renault cheated. “All of what happened was robbery – but regarding the race nothing has happened, the result remains the same. This is not right. The robbery changed the outcome of a championship and I lost (the title),” Massa says that the result of the race should be annulled, which would mean that Lewis Hamilton would lose the six points he gained for his third place finish and Massa would be world champion. Massa compares the situation to the Italian More…

Also in today’s Guardian interview with Felipe Massa is an interesting section where he talks about the championship battle and the recent, alarming decline in the form of Jenson Button. According to Massa, who fought Lewis Hamilton for last year’s world championship, Button is buckling under the pressure as the end of the championship comes into view and this offers Massa’s friend and fellow Brazilian Rubens Barrichello the chance to win the title, “Look at me, ” says Massa. “I came to Brazil six points behind [Hamilton], and I almost won the championship. That was one race. Rubens has five More…

Felipe Massa has spoken at length to the Guardian newspaper today, in a terrific interview with Donald McRae. You can listen to the whole interview on the Guardian website. The gist of it is that he feels that everything in life is pre-ordained, including his accident. This was something he had to come through, to serve some higher purpose, but he hasn’t worked out what that purpose might be yet. He is lucky to be alive, not to be blinded or brain-damaged by the 700 gramme alloy spring which fell off Rubens Barrichello’s car in Budapest and bounced into his More…

Felipe Massa says that he got a thumbs up from his visit to top motor sport doctor Steve Olvey in Florida this weekend. He is to be allowed to resume training after a small medical procedure in the next few days. But a statement from Ferrari suggests that he will be training for a return in 2010, not this season. “I’m very happy with the outcome of the exams,” Massa said. “After the small surgery that I will have done in the next few days I can finally start working out a little in the gym to get back in More…

Ferrari’s official website has a nice story today about Felipe Massa contacting his friend and fellow Brazilian Rubens Barrichello after his emotional win in Sunday’s Grand Prix in Valencia. Massa replaced Barrichello at Ferrari in 2006 and the older man carried a get well message to Massa on his crash helmet all weekend and after the race dedicated the win to him. Although it was not in any way Barrichello’s fault the spring which hit Massa in the head in Budapest fell from the rear suspension of Rubens’ car. He said over the weekend that he feels no responsibility for More…

There are now two Ferrari drivers working hard to make a comeback, both requiring clearance from medics before they can race again. While Michael Schumacher has a date with the doctors with regard to his neck injury and the slightly more urgent deadline of a race on August 23rd, Felipe Massa has been discharged by doctors in Brazil and is beginning his recuperation at home in Sao Paolo, following his head injury during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix. His road to recovery will be longer. Yesterday Massa’s doctor, Dino Altmann said, “Felipe has had a remarkable recovery. We did More…

I posted on Sunday that the F1 drivers made a DVD together with SKY Italia for Felipe Massa’s race engineer Rob Smedley to take to him in hospital. Massa watched it soon after being woken from his chemically induced coma. Here it is. It’s interesting to see the body language of the drivers as they deliver their messages. Check out Webber in particular who doesn’t sugar the pill about being in hospital. Click on the link below: Get well soon, Felipe

While Felipe Massa’s condition continues to improve in hospital, speculation regarding who will stand in for the Brazilian at next month’s European Grand Prix in Valencia is mounting. Word in Italy is that there is still concern about Massa’s sight in his left eye, with some suggestion that the optic nerve may be damaged. However Massa’s doctor Dino Altman, this afternoon said, “Felipe has no damage to his left eye. He opened it a little, it is still swollen, but he can see well. There is no obvious damage.” Only after detailed checks on the optic nerve will it be More…

Felipe Massa has been operated on this evening and is now in an induced coma in the AEK Hospital in Budapest. An inaccurate report from AP this evening suggested that his condition was life threatening but this is not the case. The operation was successful and he is likely to be woken tomorrow. Medical estimates of how long he will be out of action vary from two months, to longer. It has been suggested by one doctor here that he may miss the rest of the season. More will be known when the medically induced coma ends and the medics More…

Felipe Massa is one of a number of drivers to react with concern to the debut of 19 year old Jaime Alguersuari in the Toro Rosso. Alguersuari has done very little mileage in an F1 car, and what he has done was in a straight line, but he qualifies for a superlicence because he won last season’s British F3 championship. “For me he’s too young,” said Massa. “He’s never driven a Formula 1 car, or he has driven it in a straight line, or whatever. For me it’s wrong. It’s not good for him. He can burn himself very quickly.” More…

Two weeks ago Felipe Massa’s hopes of a podium in Spain were wrecked by a strange situation with the refuelling of his Ferrari, which meant that the team believed he was running out of fuel and was telling him to slow down in the closing stages of the race. He lost places to Mark Webber, Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso. When we spoke to him after the race he and the team had not worked out the reason, but yesterday he explained what happened, “What happened to my car especially in the last race was something that I never saw More…

Felipe Massa has his tail up today, Ferrari are back in business and he knows that he has an important role in the outcome of the race, particularly at the start, where he lines up fourth on the grid. Using the KERS system, which will give him an 80 horsepower boost on the run down to turn one, projections show that he should be second by the first corner, but if Button makes a poor start as he did in Bahrain and Kuala Lumpur, Massa will have him. “It will be hard to pass in one go all three cars,” More…