Felipe Massa has cancelled a trip home to visit his family in Brazil in order to fly to Ferrari’s factory in Maranello, in an attempt to resolve the issues plaguing his form.
The Brazilian hasn’t been able to match the performances put in by his team-mate Fernando Alonso who currently leads the championship with 35 points, compared to Massa’s zero.
Whilst some would call it bad luck, Ferrari and Massa are keen to understand why he is so uncompetitive during the race, despite qualifying just three tenths behind his team-mate with a brand new chassis.
His performances have prompted calls for Ferrari to replace him, but team principal Stefano Domenicali isn’t getting caught up in the rash decisions and rumours.
Domenicali knows there is time to turn it around, comparing Massa’s current season to his best, which started in the same fashion.
“I well remember that, four years ago, in fact right after a Malaysian Grand Prix, which was won for us by Kimi Raikkonen, Felipe was more or less in the same situation as today,” said the Italian.
“The papers were demanding his immediate replacement and he managed to react in the best way possible, thanks to support from the team, which saw him win two of the next three races.
“We remember how that particular season ended, with the Brazilian actually world champion, even if it was just for a few seconds, while we took our sixteenth Constructors’ title.”
Domenicali has given his full support to Massa and revealed the 30-year-olds plans for the coming week.
“Felipe has changed his plans and, instead of heading home to see his family in Brazil, he will be in Maranello tomorrow to work alongside the engineers to calmly analyse everything that happened in these past two races, trying to identify why he was not able to deliver what he is capable of,” he added. “That’s the right spirit and we are here, ready to help him.”
