http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns23746.html Rumours that Robert Kubica, when he is fit enough next year, could instead bypass Lotus and head directly to Ferrari, to take the seat of one Felipe Massa. The speculation is that Renault have already moved their thoughts ahead to their 2012 car and driver-lineup, due to the unlikeliness of Kubica being fit enough for the start of next season. Two teams have apparently been in contact with Kubica to let him know they have a car waiting for him should he feels he is fit enough halfway through the season. One of those teams is unmentioned, but is likely to be a midfield/backmarker team. The other is Ferrari, whom it is very possible. Kubica has been on Ferrari's radar as a suitable replacement for Massa for a while now, and would get along with Alonso very well, but unlikely to play second fiddle. Although Massa is contracted for 2012, it wouldn't be irrational to think there is a clause in his contract that allows Ferrari to drop him if he is underperforming. Ferrari certainly has the resources available to train Kubica for a Ferrari seat as he progresses in trying to make a comeback, such as cars from 2009. Your thoughts on whether Kubica could replace Massa?
If, and it is a huge if, Kubica does return then Ferrari would not have much to lose by replacing Massa with him. What's the worst that can happen? At least he won't be the first Ferrari driver since Ivan Capelli in 1992 to go a whole season without scoring a podium...........
Well, I've read that his doctors say he's driving a car, his hand works properly now so it's just a matter of building up muscle and power and they expect him to be racing F1. As to Kubica, I wonder if Kubica is the reason they've stuck by Massa, they know there's no point in replacing Massa with an untried rookie, I don't think there's that many drivers utside the current grid that would do a better job, with the exception of Heidfeld, so they'll leave Massa for the time being, give him a chance to prove himself, which I doubt he will, and swap them when Kubica is ready. That may be the reason Kubica has been quiet on the renault front. He's seen how poor the car is this season and is waiting for them to cut him, sign 2 drivers and then he'll be able to join Ferrari early mid-season. lol, Capelli.
It was a truly ****e car! Alesi managed to make it look respectable at times but it was crap, but when you look at what Alonso has done with this years Ferrari, it is a real sign of how poor Massa has been that he has not made a podium once this year. please log in to view this image
So it's a top four team, but the Ferrari assumptions are just speculation at the moment. Having said that it could only realistically be Ferrari or Red Bull that has contacted Kubica, and at least Webber is doing what a good no.2 driver should do. Massa can't even do that properly. It sounds a bit harsh to replace Massa mid-season and where would that leave Perez and Bianchi? They'd also be taking a big risk, one that could backfire big time if Kubica doesn't recover to 100%. Capelli didn't do the full season though. The last time a Ferrari driver drove the full season without being on the podium was Pironi in 1981. Even worse for Massa.
He was dropped with a couple of races to go but law of averages suggests he wouldn't have got a podium Massa's performance looks even worse if you have to go right back to 1981!
Whats the closest Massa's been to a podium this year then? Is he the most under-performing driver of the season?
He's had five 5th places. In comparison to his team-mate, it is a close call between him and Webber. Suprisingly, Webber has only had two 2nd places. He's had seven 3rd's, so Vettel has won more races than Webber has finished on the podium! Wow!
It is not really; Webber has got 62% of Vettel's points while Massa has only got 44% of Alonso's points which is just shocking.
You can also look at their relative performances, not just total points scored. If you went purely on stats, Gilles Villeneuve was merely an average driver at best.
Also depends on Alonso Vs Vettel when comparing Webber Vs Massa. As a side note Google Chrome only recognises Alonso as a driver. Vettel is Vetted Webber is Weber and Massa is Massey
On occasion, but he has the best car on the grid so you woudl expect him to look good at times. Is down to personal opinion who has been worse, but both should have done a lot better than they have.
Well Webber has scored more relative points than Massa. Webber has put in some fighting drivers which Massa has not done at all. Webber has had team orders given against him twice while Massa has had none. Webber has had more unreliability compared to Massa. And in my opinion Webber is more disadvantaged at Red Bull than Massa is at Ferrari. All in all in my personal opinion Webber has done a much better job than Massa has this year.
I was looking for a article on Webber Vs Massa and I found this rather familiar looking clip instead... [video=youtube;NmhjZSWMaOg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmhjZSWMaOg[/video]
