F1 » Herbert: Massa criticism very unfair

I''m sick of this Massa praise. Massa was aided by the unjust FIA decisions all through the season just as Lewis was the victim of them. Plus he didn''t deserve second place in China. And he wasn''t the qualifying king either as Hamilton got a MASSIVE 7 poles out of 18, more than Massa. Hamilton deserved to win once you add up all the points that were taken away from him, as well as winning despite all the rubbish against him. So Lewis got more wins (in truth) and more poles than Massa. Herbert, shut up if you don''t know the facts!

stivala, nice to see a coherent argument from you.

i wasn't aware Massa had come under criticism? What is Herbert on about? Kimi was criticized in 2009, but very few people (apart from the British GP hiccup)would deny Massa did an amazing job last year.

Massa made more mistakes at Silverstone than Hamilton did in the whole season

Why doesn't Crash comments handle a winking smiley? My previous comment was, of course, a joke.

On a more serious note, I think Massa did an OK job, but not a great one. He's an occasional great race driver, but not a great championship contender. Overall, an average driver in a great car.

He lucked in to being so close to the crown because of his nearest challenger's inconsistency, his team mate's decision to live on another planet, and an ex-double world champion (and, arguably, a few other drivers) not being in a car good enough to compete for the duration of the season.

The criticism of Massa was more a condemnation of the inconsistency of the FIA. On balance, on the track Massa was the architect of more potential dangerous activity and broke more of the FIA newly defined interpretations of the rules that any other driver. These indiscretions were subsequently overlooked and the rules were construed to favour Ferrari.

This is where the criticism of Massa has come from, one set of rules for one team and a different set for everyone else.

What all real fans of F1 want is real racing and a light touch from the stewards, and above all a level playing field for all.

Hebert says that Ferrari Didn''t help Massa in the championship. Well, if he was alone , without help of good engineers, he was lost and not knowing what to do. He is a "Kamikase" driver, very fast but he have the knowledge of a world champion ?
About the speed in qualificafion, "the good regulations" says that you can´t change the car to the race. Qualification is not about ultimate speed. It''s to "Show guys" like Massa, Alonso, and more. Massa have learn a lot, but some years ago Mr.Sauber had the two drivers: Massa, and Kimi. What was is thoughts about that ?. I''m your fan, Herbert. Happy new Year.

ian, please list the rules that you claim that mass broke. two engine blow-ups were not broken rules. the pit lane fiasco was not the breaking of a rule by massa.

I think the critisisms of Massa in the past were justified. However, He is maturing as a Driver. He "should" make fewer mistakes in 09. time will tell.

Ok. I absolutely cannot stand Ferrari and the way they manipulate F1...in fact I stopped watching a few races during the season because of this...but this is a story for another thread perhaps.
However lets get Massa in perspective. Did you see him when he first entered F1 in a Sauber? Wow that guy was quick but I never thought he would ever make it as he was inconsistent and far too aggressive.
I'm eating my words now. Silverstone aside the guy worked well under pressure and with his handling by Schumacher and his race engineer has been developed into a damn good racer.
Please bear in mind who his teammate was... regardless of whether you rate Kimi or not, he was the reigning F1 champion