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Felipe Massa will race without worrying about Ferrari future

By Andrew BensonChief F1 writer

Last updated on .From the section Formula 1comments316

Massa still does not know if he will be at Ferrari next season
Massa still does not know if he will be at Ferrari next season

Felipe Massa intends to finish the season with Ferrari without worrying if he has a future with the Italian team.

Ferrari are leaning towards sticking with the Brazilian, 31, for 2013 but Force India drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Paul Di Resta are still options.

"Of course my future is important, but right now it's the results that are the most important thing," said Massa ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix.

"The best plan is to race without worrying about the future."

Ferrari have narrowed their choice for Fernando Alonso's team-mate next year down to three drivers.

But Massa has reignited his chances of keeping the seat with some strong performances in recent races.

In the last month, Massa has finished fifth in Belgium, fourth in Italy and produced a strong comeback drive in Singapore to finish eighth after a first-lap puncture put him to the back of the field.

He is currently 10th in the overall driver standings.

"I know what I can do, what I can give to the team and what are my talents," said Massa. "The team also knows this, because I've been here with them for rather longer than a day or even a year!

"I have to concentrate on each race as it comes."

Ferrari want to wait until at least mid-October after the Korean Grand Prix before deciding.

Both German Hulkenberg and Scot Di Resta have produced impressive performances this season.

In mid-summer, Ferrari were planning to drop Massa, who has been racing for the Scuderia since 2006.

"I've always said I want to win races." Force India's Paul Di Resta

But BBC Sport understands that Ferrari team members want to keep Massa - as does Alonso, who made his views clear with a comment at the Singapore Grand Prix.

Alonso said: "We need to have a driver that respects Ferrari and the tradition of this team. We work for the team and the red cars. This is the first priority.

"And second I have been working with Felipe three years now and [we have] a good relationship. If the team decide to change Felipe, whoever [comes in] has to be better than Felipe.

"Of the names that have been written, I don't know if they have been written with the head or the heart. I don't know if you can compare what Felipe did in F1 with what they did."

That last remark is a reference to the fact that Massa has won 11 grands prix and narrowly missed out on the world title in 2008, whereas none of the drivers who have been linked with replacing him have yet won a race.

But Ferrari's bosses want to wait a little longer before confirming Massa to be sure he can hold on to his current form.

Singapore Grand Prix highlights

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316 comments

  • Comment posted by User0016666040, at 15:15 1 Oct 2012

    This is outrageous! Only stories about Lewis are allowed on this site! Remove it please!

  • Comment posted by brods_brods, at 22:49 1 Oct 2012

    I don't think it's going to be Narain Katkeyan

  • Comment posted by User0737199685, at 20:46 1 Oct 2012

    Good to have a discussion without the mindless rantings of the Ham-sters and the Ham-haters. Perhaps the BBC should put up a non story like this every week.

  • Comment posted by Rach1985, at 17:15 1 Oct 2012

    @Stuart what have you been smoking/drinking? Or are you PDR's manager/relative? PDR is good but he is not better than any of the top 3 drivers, and can't even be compared to Button, Webber or Kimi as he hasn't won a race or done anything comparable to them yet in F1. I think he has potential, but what he did in Karts is a whole different world to F1. They were just kids back then

  • Comment posted by Rach1985, at 17:25 1 Oct 2012

    @stuart the thing is early racing doesn't always mean they are the best. In 1989 German formula 3 Karl Wendlinger beat Heinz Harold Frentzen and MSC to that title. Karl was considered the best and many thought he would be the 1st German to win in F1. Then Heinz was considered 2nd best with MSC being the least likely to succeed. How did that one turn out? Lower formula form doesn't mean everything

  • Comment posted by Joe, at 16:30 1 Oct 2012

    @LC1 - 32. Alonso is a coward? the same Alonso who passed Schumi at ~195mph going into 130R, probably the second ballsiest overtake in history (Webber at Spa on Alonso being my #1)? Really?

    The Fact that Ferrari have pretty much always had unequal drivers is hardly news - it has happened for as long as I can remember and isn't new to Alonso.

  • Comment posted by Rach1985, at 16:34 1 Oct 2012

    @37 ha ha ha what a joke PDR more talented than Alonso.

    @38 it is true about Ferrari having a num1 driver, only 07-09 can I remember them not having a number 1. Which is why if Vettel joins in 2014 will be very interesting.

  • Comment posted by mmc071, at 16:32 1 Oct 2012

    @4, @32 Having a week team-mate is a hinderance, not a help! Button and Webber help Hamilton and Vettel far more in terms of taking points off championship rivals than Massa has done for Alonso.

    Personally i'd love to see Schumacher back in red one more time!

  • Comment posted by User0310291364, at 17:28 1 Oct 2012

    I see Ferrari are taking the golfers route with a choice three drivers.

  • Comment posted by User0336681406, at 16:13 1 Oct 2012

    @19 from what I can remember Masa won in Brazil, it was Timo Glock that cost him the wdc by letting Lewis past on the run up to the last corner.

  • Comment posted by User0149414955, at 16:32 1 Oct 2012

    Certainly Alonso wants to keep Massa - not as quick and does as he is told. Perez would have been more of a threat and I agree with @32 regarding not hiring Perez! If indeed they go on and hire The Hulk or di Resta then Ferrari will look stupid as Perez has done better than either of them thus far!

  • Comment posted by User0790643973, at 00:07 2 Oct 2012

    119

    You say that webber is contracted for 2013, sure reports suggest that hulkenberg and PDR are contracted for 2013 but here we are putting them in a Ferrari. This article is just benson putting a few stories together from a rumour he has heard.

  • Comment posted by User0508255555, at 20:48 1 Oct 2012

    So Perez is declared too inexperienced, but Di Resta and Hulkenburg are fine? At the end of the year, all three drivers would have had 2 seasons experience, and Perez has done the best whilst being a Ferrari academy driver. Ferrari should have taken up Perez while they could.

  • Comment posted by Rach1985, at 00:18 2 Oct 2012

    @147 as I have said I don't think JB is better than LH but I certainly think JB is better than average. My point is you don't do as well as JB has if you are just average, and the only reason JB gets all this stick is because he beat LH last year, and his FanBoys can't handle it.

    @145 the Webber contract was signed the middle of this year just around Silverstone time, is a 1yr rolling contract

  • Comment posted by Rach1985, at 00:31 2 Oct 2012

    To me a fan is someone who likes a person, supports them, sees their faults, enjoys watching them race but also can see others points of view and don't feel the need to knock an opposing drivers for every little thing.

    A fanboy is the complete opposite of this, which is why I love winding them up

    @147 I know how bad LH was in 11 as it was one of the most unprofessional seasons I have ever seen

  • Comment posted by CRT_Paul, at 12:53 2 Oct 2012

    For me I'd stick with Massa. Hulkenburg might be better, but it's a gamble as he's still hit and miss, and Di Resta? Well if he was that good his Mercedes connections would have surely seen him in the McLaren team next year rather than Perez. He's not, and that speaks volumes. I can't help but think Di Resta is overrated.

    Massa for 2013, Vettel for 2014 and Ferrari will win many Championships.

  • Comment posted by User0138791583, at 16:05 1 Oct 2012

    I feel sorry for Massa, he had three really good seasons but hasn't really come close to winning a race since, sans that one where he was ordered to let Alonso pass him. Losing the title like he did on the last lap, then almost losing his life the following year, clearly he doesn't have the best luck. Hulkenberg has speed but I haven't seen many overtakes from him, so Di Resta looks the best bet.

  • Comment posted by Rach1985, at 21:34 1 Oct 2012

    @123 yes very true and he had a 4th place at Germany in his 1st season. People seem to make these sweeping statements, especially about JB and never have the actual stats to back them up

  • Comment posted by User0737199685, at 21:17 1 Oct 2012

    @114
    so why sign Vettel?

  • Comment posted by mmc071, at 11:12 2 Oct 2012

    @191 You're talking rubbish as usual.

    In the first half of 2010 FM was constantly holding up FA during races and FA was left to fight his way past him, such as that pit-lane entrance overtake that he pulled off. It wasnt until FA was in the title hunt and FM wasn't that FM was asked to move over - something which has only happened twice in 3 years. Its hardly FM isnt allowed to race FA is it?

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