‘Something not right’ at Ferrari in telling Felipe Massa verdict

Former Ferrari driver Felipe Massa believes that the Scuderia is missing a clear set of rules on how it goes racing.

Following recent tensions between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, which have subsided, Massa concluded that “something is not right” as he spoke of how Ferrari, in his time with the team, had its rules of engagement and general expectations crystal clear for the get-go.

Felipe Massa calls for more ‘precise’ Ferrari plan

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur had a situation to take care of at the Brazilian Grand Prix, as tensions between its drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, following their incident at the start of the Mexican GP, spilt over into Interlagos.

The situation would eventually de-escalate, with both drivers stating that they had moved on, while Vasseur said the team’s guidelines remained the same.

Vasseur confirmed that the talks ended with a clear message of “Ferrari is coming first.”

However, that the situation happened at all set the alarm bells ringing for Massa.

“For sure, what’s happening this year in Ferrari is not really right,” he stated on the High Performance Racing podcast.

“With this relationship with the drivers, they want to show who is the number one driver.

“But I think these things happen when the team is not 100 per cent right. When the car, the team, the result is not coming what it has to be.

“Sometimes it’s not nice for the driver, but I think before the championship, things need to be a little bit more precise, you know, the rules and how you need to be following in the right way.”

Massa harked back to his time at Ferrari alongside Kimi Raikkonen, an era which delivered the Scuderia’s most recent title successes. Raikkonen won the Drivers’ crown in 2007, while Ferrari clinched the Constructors’ in 2008.

The Brazilian recalled how it was made clear to them that they were “free to race” while “respecting the team, not crashing into each other.” That was until after the Belgian Grand Prix, as from there it was stated that the team would “need to focus on the first driver.”

He continued: “The respect is something that needs to be very strong from the drivers.

“So I don’t know how it’s going inside the team. How is the relationship with the drivers? How is the relationship with Lewis as well in this way?

“But, I think it needs to be a little bit better, the relationship, the talk, the working together as a team, because this will help the team to have a precise situation in terms of working.”

Rob Smedley, Massa’s former Ferrari race engineer and a regular on the podcast, concurred on his point about the rules of engagement being clear, adding that “then everybody in the team just accepted it. You got behind it.

“But even, if you can remember, sometimes you used to sit with Ross [Brawn] and Jean [Todt] and Stefano [Domenicali] or whatever on the Sunday morning between the drivers, and we used to talk very specifically about what happens on the first lap, where we attack, where we’re not allowed to attack, what needs to happen between the two drivers. It was very, very clear.

“I think when you don’t have clear rules of engagement, that’s when you start to get problems.”

Massa responded: “That’s something is not right. The team is bigger than any drivers. The team is bigger than any situation at the end, especially a team like Ferrari.

“So if you don’t follow, then for sure something is not right inside the team, which it was never the situation that we followed in Ferrari in the past.”

The question was posed regarding whether Ferrari needs a conversation over the winter or reset of its approach for F1 2027.

“Why wait until over the winter?” Former Aston Martin and Alpine team boss Otmar Szafnauer questioned.

Massa took back over with: “Yeah, exactly.

“I mean, now, if the team has like a proper situation in the championship, maybe they have to try to finish second in the Constructors’ Championship, but I mean, we are in the situation that the Drivers’ [Championship] doesn’t count anymore in the position, because if you haven’t finished first or second, then it doesn’t change.”

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Both Hamilton and Leclerc could still claim a runner-up finish in the Drivers’ Championship. Hamilton’s deficit to P2 Max Verstappen is 18 points. Leclerc is 30 points shy of that position.

“But I think the way of working needs to be better. That’s what I believe,” Massa concludes.

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