What about Kubica? We haven't mentioned him, he's started driving again, he might be ready in 9 races time.
Well they say Massa's seat is safe for half the season so those sums add up. where did you get 9 from???
I don't see Kubica ever coming back, especially if his task is to be back to his best from the start. We never know Massa might pick up, but I doubt it.
You said massa's seat is safe for half the season. we've done 1 race, leaving 9 until mid season. Believe it or not, i can do maths.
I explained that in my answer. 20 races in a season, 10 is halfway, we've done one race, leaving 9 until the middle of the season. It's junior school maths.
Apologies for cross-threading but this seems more appropriate here rather than having two threads discussing the same topic. Fisichella struggled and he was a relatively experienced driver. Ferrari allegedly build cars that are 'difficult' to drive but how much more difficult than other cars they are we couldn't know and all cars are different. This year's car looks very difficult. Alonso has not only had pre-season tests to get used to the car each year but is also an exceptionally able driver. Perez might take longer to get up to speed in Ferrari than Massa would in Sauber.
looks like sutil can see his way back in with filling Perez's void... please log in to view this image http://www.f1today.net/en/news/sutil-sweettalks-sauber-in-case-of-transfer-of-perez-to-ferrari
Sutil should be in F1 IMO, certainly better than 5 or 6 I could mention, I think his biggest problem is his nationality, so many Germans means a smaller portion of the sponsorship pool is available, Glock's in a similar position. But will Ferrari go for Perez, or stick someone else in it first, if he's fit I think it'll be Kubica, his problem is grip, how that'll affect him remains to be seen, people seem to forget that people have comeback from terrible injuries and raced again, in far less technical machinery.
The main issue Fisichella had apparently was dealing with the different "feel" of the car underbraking as the Ferrari had KERS which the Force India lacked. This year given how Raikkonen has adapted to an F1 car like he's never been away, can't really see Perez struggling too badly with switching cars.
I voted yes because I think he deserves to be on F1 - had it been 'does he deserve to be at ferrari' i would have voted no. I think he should be there but in a lesser team.
Fair point but the main thing I remember was Fisichella's problem with the complexity of the Ferrari and the amount of driver input required just to operate it. That and engine driveability, which, like energy harvesting, you might assume would be similar between the Sauber and Ferrari cars. Like Alonso, Raikkonen's not a straightforward comparison in my opinion. Apart from the fact that he's more experienced than Perez, and with very different cars, this year's Lotus is allegedly very good to work with, with little effort required to get it to the stage where they're tweaking setups for the specific circuit and track conditions. It'll be interesting to watch if the switch does occur. The two drivers' relative confidence levels and familiarity with their new teams could create interesting dynamics.
You make a good point. If anything you essentially rule out Massa's potential replacement being anyone not on the grid already, seeing as they will want someone who only needs to adapt to the car, not in addition to getting used to the car as well. Which limits their driver options somewhat. The press guy on Twitter recently suggested that Raikkonen has many fans at Ferrari, now that WOULD be a turn-up. Otherwise... Rosberg is an option. I'd love to see someone like Kobayashi get a chance myself. If Perez does go in the car, I reckon we'll see an error-strewn but eminently quick performance until he settles down, much like Massa in early 2006 (remember his spin at Bahrain?).
I didn't mean to rule anyone out - I was just commenting on the specific Perez/Massa swap. There are plenty of drivers outside of F1 who could replace Massa but, yes: it would be highly unusual for Ferrari to go down that route. I don't think anyone currently driving in F1 couldn't adapt to the car (bar the odd obvious example). If the F2012 is any more difficult than any other car then it's just a matter of time for any decent driver. I would be amazed if Raikkonen went anywhere near Ferrari after they dumped him. That's not to say I think he's embittered, just that he's been there and done that and he knows how they operate. I get the impression he's pretty comfortable at Lotus and the team suits him. I could see Rosberg going there but it would have to be long term because he's pretty secure at Mercedes (assuming they don't quit the sport). It would be expensive to buy him out of his contract. I think it might be a dead-end street for Kobayashi - he'd presumably only be asked to fill in for Massa until the end of the season, perhaps with an option if he performed. The first thing Ferrari need to do, however, is improve the car and the Alonso/Massa yardstick might be their best option by which to measure progress.
Curious. Massa's done exactly what's expected of a Ferrai No.2 which is to leave the leader to grab any glory going, and take any crap that the team picks up. When they don't even treat him as well as a cycling team treats a domestique they can't expect much, and that's exactly what they've got. Not Massa's problem, it's Ferrari's, where lead driver is a god, everyone else is expendable. They'd inflict the same crap on any replacement, even if he managed to pick up some points
