Thats your opinion. For me it was an overtaking maneuver. Felipe admitted he made a mistake in the last corner and they ended side by side and Alonso had the inside line. do u expect him to lift off and let Massa go ahead coz he seems to be a nice guy? Not bashing Massa here but I dont see it the way u see it.

are you accusing Ferrari for sabotaging Massa's car and hence slowing him down?
Ferrari have been working their hearts out since last season and its unfair to all the hardwork they have put into this car/engine and I cannot for once imagine them slowing any driver down. I find some of your comments unfair.

Still funny that as soon as someone starts racing like a man, many F1 enthousiasts cry foul. It was a hard move that must have pissed off Massa, but nonetheless this is exciting racing. I would love to see much more cowboy action.

Any true F1 champion has that ruthlessness about him. Massa should learn from this and harden up for future races.

Still funny that as soon as someone starts racing like a man, many F1 enthousiasts cry foul. It was a hard move that must have pissed off Massa, but nonetheless this is exciting racing. I would love to see much more cowboy action.

Any true F1 champion has that ruthlessness about him. Massa should learn from this and harden up for future races.

Exciting racing? Pushing your teammate of the track on the pitlane when you cant overtake him on the track. And you can be a succesful race driver without being a complete a** on the track. Just because dirty driving has been done in history, doesnt mean itss somehow acceptable nowadays. Besides to me that has nothing to do with being a "man"

If Massa had done that move to Alonso, everyone would be applauding him as a real racer who put Alonso in his place and saying Alonso will now start crying and cause trouble at Ferrari.

Exciting racing? Pushing your teammate of the track on the pitlane when you cant overtake him on the track.

Did he break any rules? Not really, no.

No, I wasn't accusing Ferrari. Only giving back to comments about Massa being so slow since he was specifically ordered to slow down in Bahrain ;)

MTV3 have compiled the international press review:

O Estado de São Paulo –magazine from Brazil:

According to the magazine Massa's expression after the race showed that he wasn't satisfied with his team mate although Ferrari had told their drivers to give positive statements.

- Massa was reluctant to comment on the situation. When Brasilian reporters asked him unofficially if everything is really okay, his expression told that it's best not to say anything.

- The incidents in Shanghai will definitely have consequences. It's likely that the honeymoon between the Ferrari-drivers has ended.

Italian Il Tempo

- Alonso's overtake over Massa was just and just within the borders of what is correct and with a great probablility it broke the idyll between the team mates.

Italian La Stampa

- The peace lasted for three races. In the fourth race Alonso forgot the fair game and overtook Massa in the most cruel way.

- Alonso broke the diplomatic relationship with Massa.

- Mark Webber is the weak link in Red Bull and Michael Schumacher in Mercedes. Massa is in danger of getting into the same position in Ferrari.

Mediaset tv-company's website:

Alonso got the number 6,5.

- Alonso did an increadible rise but he got into the situation by his own fault. The jumpstart was a mistake that lead to a drive-through penalty. After that he drove strongly and determined in an Alonso-like way and showed the marching order to Felipe. One has to ask, where would he have been without mistakes?

Massa got the number 5.

- His credit was his overtake over Schumi and the fair attitude by which he avoided fights with Alonso despite the backstabbing on the pitlane. He gets a full 10 for team spirit.

Italian Il Giornale:

Alonso got number 4.

- The jumpstart wasn't on the wishlist, he knows it, the tifosi know it and Ferrari knows it. A rude overtake over Massa didn't please us either. It was like Schumacher from back of the years but Felipe isn't Rubens Barrichello.

Massa got the number 6,5 for the team spirit he showed but Alonso can hardly expect any favours from him in the future.

- He has lost his trust for his team mate. Fernando pulled a dirty trick on him and Massa will remember it. Alonso, be aware.

Spanish AS:

- Alonso worked his way up from 17th to 4th with a raging performance overtaking everything that was in his way. Even his team mate Felipe Massa to whom he showed where the cupboard stands. The overtake was bold but within regulations, AS said.

Difficult to say. I think Ferrari are happy with his raw pace and little disappointed with mistakes. All in all they should be even suprised with raw pace, because Domenicali said before the season that they don't expect that Alonso will be doing better than Raikkonen on track.

That is strange, why would Ferrari get rid of Raikkonen if they did not expect Alonso to be doing better

That is strange, why would Ferrari get rid of Raikkonen if they did not expect Alonso to be doing better

Do you think that if there was no call to pit at that time, Alonso would:

(a) have easily passed Massa at the next corner; or

(b) failed to pass Massa at the next corner?

I think it's pretty obviously (b). Whether they were pitting or not, Alonso was going to pass Massa. He can overtake him on the track.

Yes, he did. There is a rule that forbids crossing the lines at pit entry.

BTW. the whole situation reminds me Imola 1982...

I honestly don't know what all the fuss is about.

Alonso's move is exactly the same move that Lewis pulled off:

http://i42.tinypic.com/35bxzz5.gif

The only difference is that the unfortunate driver was FM.

they expect(ed) him to give better feedback from the car. In what way to develop it.

$antander + ^

Kimi practically made this F10. Anyway, it seems they don't rate Massa's feedback?

BTW. the whole situation reminds me Imola 1982...

That is strange, why would Ferrari get rid of Raikkonen if they did not expect Alonso to be doing better

First of all I propose more concentration on each driver's good qualities and since they are in the same team - showing some respect for both of them - on the forum.

Now it looks like one driver is put down in the gutter and the other one is lifted up sky high instead of, like earlier said, respecting them both. Massa is clearly the underdog in forums and I have to hand it to the few people here who have the energy and will to defend him

That was about forums.

I wouldn't want to see Massa pulling manouvers like that on track just like I wouldn't want to see Alonso doing them either. Let's face it, if there is a lot of tension inside the team it will hinder the team in the long run. Everything that goes on behind scenes will eventually show on-track.

So there would really be need of some professional help within the team to help Massa and Alonso really work out their relationship and also help them respect each other since the way things are going now.... it will very probably lead into a personal fight on the track instead of collecting points to the team. Now the WDC seems to be highlighted and it might well go down the drain sooner than we realise it. Or they realise it.

With the four top teams all having strong team mates and close to each other it serves the team and the drivers best if they get both drivers to bring in points on a regular basis.

What if they take each other out on the track? Both the team and the drivers lose immensly.

So the solution to the pitlane-incident would have been making it clear that neither one of them play solo on the track and go against the team strategy. When that happens the team loses since they should know inside the team which calls are the right ones and they should have ordered Alonso in first if they would have seen that as the best solution instead of letting drivers do as they please.

If they find somekind of harmony within the team then it will show in many ways. Firstly we wouldn't have the Brasilian, Italian and the Spanish media fighting and coming up with this and that. Secondly on forums there would be a much more healthy discussion going on that isn't about bashing in a ridiculous manner the other driver since we know where it leads - people start fighting and when they run out of arguments the personal insulting starts.

Thirdly and most importantly a harmony and a healthy and fair battle between the team mates will bring the best result eventually. It benefits the team and the drivers as well.

And.... I'd appreciate if Ferrari came out with real statements telling that things aren't good now but they are working on it instead of going on with the bla bla bla about how well the drivers get along since it's obvious to everyone that it's not the case - there is tension and there is fire - Ferrari should hire professional help so that they could transform and direct it into something good instead of letting it become destructive.

This is my personal opinion when thinking what is the best for the team Ferrari as well as the drivers Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso.

It took longer than I expected, but ultimately the cheater started showing his wings. Poor Massa, he will miss having a honest man as his team mate...

There is Santander, plus the fact that Räikkönen was unwilling to commit for more than one year at the time.

Think about it.

Kimi: "Ya know, maybe I´ll stick around for one more year...if you pay me huge salary & let me participate some rallies. I´ll tell you about my decision at the last minute."

Fernando: "I want good salary too, but I´ll bring Santander onboard. They are willing to pay the bills. I´ll be 110% committed for next three years and maybe even longer."

It´s a no-brainer, really. Even as Räikkönen supporter I´d choose Alonso.

There is Santander, plus the fact that Räikkönen was unwilling to commit for more than one year at the time.

Think about it.

Kimi: "Ya know, maybe I´ll stick around for one more year...if you pay me huge salary & let me participate some rallies. I´ll tell you about my decision at the last minute."

Fernando: "I want good salary too, but I´ll bring Santander onboard. They are willing to pay the bills. I´ll be 110% committed for next three years and maybe even longer."

It´s a no-brainer, really. Even as Räikkönen supporter I´d choose Alonso.

Can you post a link to such insightful information.

Alonso is IMHO the best pound-for-pound driver in F1, and he's going to start dominating anytime soon. He can make that Ferrari go very quick in all conditions and is kind to his tyres. I think Massa will struggle to beat him this year, good driver though he is.

Still funny that as soon as someone starts racing like a man, many F1 enthousiasts cry foul. It was a hard move that must have pissed off Massa, but nonetheless this is exciting racing. I would love to see much more cowboy action.

Any true F1 champion has that ruthlessness about him. Massa should learn from this and harden up for future races.

I am rewatching the race and i have to say something:

After Alonso made the drive through he was quite far from Massa. Then Massa made 3 mistakes:

- He went wide in the pit entry and almost got stuck.
- He went wide after changing to slick tyres and lost around 5 seconds.
- He made a mistake in the corner before the pit lane entrey that allowed FA to match him and made the overtake.

Sorry, but thats too many mistakes if you want to keep your teammate behind. The pit entrance is part of the track and overtaking there is as legitimate as overtaking everywhere else.

Maybe i have been wathing F1 for too long, but in the old days there was not such crap as "beeing nice" or "the interest of the team spirit". Let´s take the mask out, this is F1 and this is probably the most mentally hardcore sport in the world. Either you win or you get your ass out.

I mean, this is a sport for predators and if you can´t stand it you will eventually get eaten.

Massa is underperforming (IMO) and the only thing that is keeping him in place is that FA is making more mistakes in 4 races than in 2005 and 2006 put together. Eventually FA will stop making mistakes, but i just can´t imagine Felipe getting much faster than he his right now.

Ferrari doesn't need the Santander to get proper sponsoring, there must be at least some companies eager to do it. I don't see Ferrari, who always want to challenge for the championship, relying on some driver just because he brings an sponsor.

You miss the point. You can race like that against anybody else, except your team mate. Any other driver and I would be laughing and calling it fair game. But against your team mate, faster or not, that was a touch naughty IMO. In all my posts I dont have a bad word to say about Alonso or Massa. But from a neutrals perspective, that move was beyond boarderline. It was out of order. The gloves are off. How Felipe reacts and what retribution he dishes out to Alonso, will set the tone for the rest of the season.

You miss the point. You can race like that against anybody else, except your team mate. Any other driver and I would be laughing and calling it fair game. But against your team mate, faster or not, that was a touch naughty IMO. In all my posts I dont have a bad word to say about Alonso or Massa. But from a neutrals perspective, that move was beyond boarderline. It was out of order. The gloves are off. How Felipe reacts and what retribution he dishes out to Alonso, will set the tone for the rest of the season.

If I read you well the only attitude that a teammate has is to hold position behind your teammate because if you can't be aggressive with your teammate as you can be with other competition then how are you supposed to overtake? Unless you believe in team orders for any team mate pass - old style but effective many times.

If the news from Brazil that Massa was indeed pissed with Alonso's pass are true he should really think twice and have another perspective of the season:

-Massa will have better results if he concentrates in getting his races optimized instead of thinking on how Alonso is doing.
-He should let past his team mate if he is faster than him (and they are not fighting for P1); same applies for Alonso.
-This way he will still have a chance came 'his' races.

The way I see it is that Massa is obsessed with beating Alonso and only concentrates while Alonso is on his radar. I don't really know how come people think there was a chance for him to be WDC with Alonso on board. He possibly beat Kimi in 2008 and 2009 having political action but Alonso himself is very political and Ferrari is a very political team while Kimi doesn't care much and only drives.

And I'm a bit worried about Massa because he started to 'challenge' Alonso leadership of the team even before winter testing with all those remarks about his chances of beating him.

Let's change the roles for a second here. So do you really believe that had Massa done that to Alonso on the pits Alonso would be Ok with it? I think somebody here forgot about 2007...

Good points.

While Alonso can cause friction with his approach to racing teammates, he doesn´t let that disrupt on-track performance too much. He can still be calm enough inside the cockpit...well, most of the time anyway. But I am not sure about Massa. I think if the two start focusing on each other...overall team performance will suffer, both will screw up here and there, but it will be Felipe who ends up making the biggest errors on track. And this is exactly the kind of situation Alonso wants. By responding to bullying tactics and political fights, he´ll end up playing Fernando´s game.

But if he manages to remain cool & consistent, there is good chance it will be Alonso who gets annoyed with teammate who refuses to drop off from competition.

All IMHO.

I remember Barrichello being furious with MS (and Ferrari) for doing a pass at Monaco that ONLY worked because he knew Barri wouldn't hit him, he would think of the team. It grated Barri because he from that point knew that MS didn't respect him in the same way Barri respected Michael. In a 50/50 situation, MS EXPECTED Barri to yield. He counted on it. If I remember the reporting correctly, Rubens was also pretty pissed that Ferrari basically said that it was OK.

This is a similar pivotal moment, and his future in Ferrari seem to depend on how he handles it. I honestly think Massa will hit Alonso (or rather, let Alonso hit him) if he tries something like that again. Alonso has shown he expects Massa to give way if push comes to shove, and if he doesn't stand up the next time, the pattern is set.

How can you say that? This is a big allegation.
IMO All Alonso wants is to finish as higher up as possible and get as many points as possible.
Target is the championship and just beating your team mate is not enough. The bigger picture is that there are 4 strong teams with strong competitors, anyone capable of winning on a given day and Ferrari is chasing the championships... both drivers need as many wins and podiums as possible to achieve the goal.

I remember Barrichello being furious with MS (and Ferrari) for doing a pass at Monaco that ONLY worked because he knew Barri wouldn't hit him, he would think of the team.