Massa Wdc?

[sicilian973-2]

With consistantly besting the times of Kimi Raikonnen ALL winter and finishing a strong 3rd last year in the WDC,is Felipe Massa gonna take the crown this year?When Kimi came on board,people automatically assumed he would be finally crowned world champion.1 reason people would think that is because Kimi is in a top of the line and reliable car.Well from my perspective,Ferrari have to prove there reliabilty abilities.As it was poor reliabilty that screwed Schumi out of his 8th WDC.Its gonna be a battle between Massa and Kimi for the WDC....Screw Alonso,him and that herb Lewis hamilton will probably be the biggest rivals when it comes to Constructors

[Rockefella]

I've never put faith into the testing times and practices, seeing as the 3rd or even 4th drivers in the teams get the best times. I'm sure Kimi will be fast, and Felipe may play a very similar role to last year.

[sicilian973-2]

i agree..but almost every test....yes i also agree that testing is not the most persuasive

[twinspark]

Originally Posted by sicilian973-2

i agree..but almost every test....yes i also agree that testing is not the most persuasive

Räikkönen is new at Ferrari, whereas Massa has more experience of their cars. I believe Felipe has also driven more with the new car than Kimi?

[Jack_Bauer]

It's not really all that fruitful to compare teammates' times set on the same day. If a team has two cars out running on a particular day it is highly unlikely that they will be running the same sort of programme. The whole point of having multiple cars at a test is so you can test different parts, different compounds, different setups, different fuel-loads etc in roughly similar track conditions. It would be something of a waste of valuable time and resources to have two cars doing the same thing. Different times are always to be expected.

Taking this week's test as an example I know for a fact that yesterday Kimi's car was wearing a brand-new front wing that had come fresh from the factory. Today he seems to have the old wing on, perhaps suggesting that the wing he was using yesterday wasn't to his liking. That's what these tests are all about, trial and error, trying to figure out which of the new parts work well and which don't. Absolute speed is not all that important.

There is also the factor that Kimi is notoriously lazy and half-assed when it comes to testing and practice sessions. He seems to have an innate ability to find that extra tenth or two out of nowhere come qualifying and race day. Who knows, maybe Massa really is quicker than Kimi, but I don't think you could say that with any certainty just from testing. Melbourne in a few weeks will be the real test.

With regards to the championships I think the fact that Ferrari clearly have two very good and pretty experienced drivers stands them in very good stead for the Constructor's title, but I wonder whether it could work against the two drivers in terms of the WDC. Nobody seems quite sure who the #1 driver in the team is, whereas at McLaren Alonso is very definitely the lead driver. This should mean he is unlikely to be challenged too heavily from within his own team. It's not that I don't rate Hamilton, but I don't think he'll be in a position to start winning races regularly just yet, he'll need time to settle.

My tip would be Alonso to make it 3-in-a-row in the WDC, and Ferrari to reclaim the WCC.

[dydzi]

one fact that should make you thinking about times in tests - yesterday kimi was using a car with a new aero set and massa had old one and still his top time was 0,3 s better (and he was first)

ferrari is always first in the first day of testing and later 4th-6th. just trying to prove something?

kimi will be the leader of the team, it's inevitable

or recall season 2004 - during tests ferrari was in the middle and many said - oooh the end of ferrari dominance is coming. and what? australia came and BAAAM ferrari faster by 1,5 s than anybody else

[Coventrysucks]

Originally Posted by Ferrari Prinze

Well from my perspective,Ferrari have to prove there reliabilty abilities... ...Its gonna be a battle between Massa and Kimi for the WDC...

So, you think Ferrari's reliability is unproven, yet they are certain to be ahead of every other team?

If it is certain that they will be competing for titles, it is certain that they will have reliability.

Not much point in attempting to apply logic to the ramblings of pointless fan-boys though.

[Zytek_Fan]

Don't base your predictions on your fanboy-ism, sicilian

[Kitdy]

Jack_Bauer is learned about the Formula 1s [sic].

I still have to go with Kimi for the WDC and if Massa beats him in the points - I'll eat my own head. In my eyes, Kimi is THE fastest driver. The race does not always go to the swiftest - but it usually does.