Former Scuderia Ferrari driver Felipe Massa admitted that the difficult moments encountered by the Maranello team in the last decade have not come as a surprise to him, as Ferrari’s best years were in the early 2000s with Michael Schumacher. Despite the fact that the Italian side tried to sign some of the best Formula 1 drivers, such as Fernando Alonso or Sebastian Vettel, the team has not won a Drivers’ Championship title since Kimi Raikkonen’s 2007 victory.
Although the Scuderia was involved in the title fight for a few years, it could only secure runner-up results in both the Drivers’ and teams’ competitions, while 2020 proved the lowest point of the last four decades, with only a sixth place finish at the end of the 2020 Formula 1 championship:
Felipe Massa, who raced for Ferrari between 2006 and 2013, admitted that did not come as a shock to him: “That did not surprise me” – the Brazilian said, as reported by Spanish daily AS. – “Ferrari’s best years were with [Michael] Schumacher, then 2006, 2007, 2008. After 2009, Ferrari was no longer the team of the hour. There have been many changes and it is important to keep a cool head. That is difficult at Ferrari. Ferrari’s problem is not a driver problem, it’s a car problem, a team problem. Sainz and Leclerc form a very important driver pairing.” – he added.
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In 2021, Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc helped Scuderia Ferrari finished third place in the Constructors’ while Sainz was P5 in the Drivers’ standings, best of the rest behind the Red Bull and Mercedes drivers. When asked about Carlos Sainz’s impressive performance of finishing ahead of Charles Leclerc in his first year at the Maranello team, despite the fact that many consider the Monegasque as Ferrari’s main driver, Felipe Massa said:
“Calos Sainz works hard, he’s consistent and fast. He’s a very strong driver” – But whether he will ever win a title “depends on the car. He has the necessary consistency, but it’s not easy to get a team-mate like Charles Leclerc right at the start overtake. He has to do a perfect job for that.”
As Formula 1 is ready for its all-new cars, the former Ferrari driver feels the favourites remain Red Bull and Mercedes, but at the same time Felipe hopes Ferrari can also challenge for race wins: “If there are big changes there can be surprises, although that’s difficult. I think the big teams will still be at the top, like Mercedes and Red Bull. But maybe also Ferrari or McLaren. Usually the big teams are more likely to start the year at the top. I hope that with the changes Ferrari can win again in 2022. I’m a Ferrarist. But it’s not easy. It takes a lot of hard work and a cool head to get good results.” – Felipe Massa concluded.
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