Massa is quite good Shocker.

[cds_uk]

Am i the only person who thought Massa did ok this year, i admit Fisi got the better of him on the whole but there was never a huge margin in qualifying, in fact Massa was his equal toward the end of the season, Fisi beat him on race pace but again Felipe definately closed the gap as the season wore on. When you consider that Fisi had such a good season you have to admit a good part of this could well be down to Massa making him work bloody hard to stay ahead. One more thing, he did keep it on the black stuff a lot more than a lot of people thought he would.

[shiny side up!]

I don't know if he is any faster than he was his rookie year, but the testing with Ferrari certainly calmed his driving down a lot and it payed off with some decent performances in '04. Certainly less wild at this point than Sato is after similar beginnings...

Still, if he doesn't beat JV regularly next year, I think his future won't be very bright

[Knowlesy]

Massa began the year wilder than ever, but he calmed towards the end and became a consistent points scorer as Sauber also improved a lot.

And he's a great RACER.

[Kicking-back]

I believe he's peaked.

He won't get any better - and will lose out to Jacques Villeneuve.

Massa's style is still fundamentally flawed.

[Knowlesy]

I agree in a way KB, i can't see him improving a great deal. But I do think he'll be around for a good while and should become a moderate success.

I just enjoy watching his flawed style, to be honest!

[Tweed]

For some reason, I find it hard to picture Villeneuve regularly beating Massa, don't know why really.

[ASCII Man]

Unbeliever!

[Rich R]

with next years sauber line up i think if one drivers beating the other you may just see the slower one overdriving a little.

[Dixie Flatline]

Originally posted by knowlesy
I agree in a way KB, i can't see him improving a great deal. But I do think he'll be around for a good while and should become a moderate success.

I just enjoy watching his flawed style, to be honest!

So does Montoya! There was an interview with Montoya in F1 Racing in Australia a few months ago where Montoya made the comment that sometimes when following Massa he wondered how he stayed on the track with his unique driving style.

[BSchneiderFan]

Originally posted by Tweed
For some reason, I find it hard to picture Villeneuve regularly beating Massa, don't know why really.

His performance at Renault, perhaps?

[BoatOwner]

Massa has the weirdest driving style... its as if he doesn't believe in being at the edge of the track on entry to corners - he's almost closer to the middle of the track than he is to the edge of it.

[BootsOntheSide]

Massa had a fairly impressive season, with some great bursts of speed. It'll be itneresteing to see if he can match JV - he's given Fisichella his sternest test for years.

[neilap]

How is Massa's style flawed? Honestly, I have not paid too much attention to how he handles the car. I just know he always seemed pretty fast. Fisi was the better of the two but that is nothing new.

JV, well, I feel he peaked a while back. I feel if they both have a good year Massa will come out on top.

[Glen]

Massa's tyle is quite outrageous, and one of the few that can be seen as such on the small screen of TV. He kind of flicks the car into the corner in a karting style - he'll approach the corner quite well into the track, and then fling the car to outside before flicking it back the other way and then into the apex. A bit like the countersteering of a rally car as it barkes and swings into a corner. he has calmed it down a bit compared to his rookie year though - sometimes it used to look like he could barely keep it on the straights, let alone the corners.

[Logrence]

I think we're going to see an epic battle between Villeneuve and Massa the like of which the world has never seen...they'll be fighting with each other over who can possibly go any slower, who can throw it off the circuit first and who can come up with the most imaginative ways to blame anyone except them.

It'll be quite riveting.

[N I Tram]

Felipe is certainly one of the most exciting drivers to watch, and although I can't see him improving that much beyond his current level, or beating an on-form JV if faced with one, he's a great asset to Formula 1 as a whole - a lot of the drivers simply aren't exciting to watch going round the track on their own.

[Ryo28]

Massa was certainly closer to Fisichella than Button was in 2001 - and Jenson hasn't done too badly for himself more recently has he? Massa certainly looks like a fast, spectacular driver, who can actually overtake as well! Though he really needs to beat Villeneuve in '05 to keep his career moving forward.

[Kicking-back]

But Button's driving style did not suit the 2001 Benetton.

It's really difficult to say X beat Y at Team 1, therefore Y will be quicker than Z at Team 2.

Great article on this, referencing Button, in this week's Autosport.

[BootsOntheSide]

That was really Button's worst season - he didn't truly fit with the management, wasn't used to having a slower car, and was a bit too obsessed with the trappigns of fame to put real effort into his driving - Liz wrote a very good article for F1 Rejects about this at the time.

[Kicking-back]

It wasn't about effort in his driving though - it was about his technique not suiting the nuances of that car.

[Snrub]

Massa had some impressive short term performances, but over a distance Fisi had a quiet substantial advantage. Does it really matter if he can qualify close to Fisi?

[luke]

Roll on Massa for 2005.

[ASCII Man]

Doesn't matter, Jacques will tear his soul apart. *awful Pinhead immitation*

[luke]

On the track or off the track?

[Dani Filth]

Massa all the way .. i was impressed by his race at Alfa Romeo . and since that day . i'm one of his fans . he had a low mid season / but came strong in the latter races