Ferrari in no rush to hand Massa No1 status

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Monday 8th September 2008

Ferrari have no intention of rushing into a decision to support Felipe Massa despite the Brazilian having a hefty advantage over Kimi Raikkonen in the standings.

Massa's victory in Sunday's Belgian GP saw his lead over his team-mate and reigning World Champion grow to 16 points with five races remaining. It also had Massa move to within two points of Championship leader Lewis Hamilton.

But despite the fact that Massa is clearly Ferrari's best-placed driver in the standings, team boss Stefanon Domenicali is not willing to rush into asking Raikkonen to support Massa's campaign.

"We will take the decision in the team interests," Domenicali said.

"In my view, the situation that we have now is something that we need to think about with no rush because it's something that is part of our approach to the races.

"If we feel that it's the right time we are going to do it. But let's take this Sunday, with so many events that we take back home, (and) prepare for Monza in the right way.

"This is the main target that we need to be focused on in the next few days."

Your Comments

foxy

"Ferrari are in no hurry to throw their support behind Massa, why? the answer to this seems apparent to us all, they simply don't have to make that decision yet. With the F.I.A. so obviously favouring the red cars, they don't need to choose between their drivers. When they eventually decide who they think should win the title, they'll simply notify the F.I.A., and strings will be pulled to ensure Ferrari get their way. "

revivalbassist

"Fararri is a strange beast. They seem to have this dislike for their OWN drivers and want to 'pick' who they let win titles. Mansell never felt properly treated there and when Shumaker was off injured, Eddie Irvine performed well and could have won the title, but the team wouldn't let him. Surely the best man should win, not 'the man we like the most'."

whilyn

"There is something wrong with Kimi this season. But there is something missing in Massa. He is not the driver I would want to be champion because He is not the driver with the better skills. I hope Ferrari is not giving up on Kimi because I feel like Massa will break down at any race. Maybe when it is 3 races to go them Kimi can graciously slow down and let Massa get by. "

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