Red Bull RB6 is a class apart: Felipe Massa
Ferrari’s Felipe Massa conceded that Red Bull were a class apart at the previous weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix. Austrian driver Sebastian Vettel took pole position at the Hungaroring with a 1.2 second advantage and his Australian team mate Mark Webber clinched the second spot 17.8 seconds in front of Massa’s Spanish Ferrari partner Fernando Alonso.
At the German Grand Prix, Ferrari managed to outpace the Red Bulls with Alonso and Massa recording an impressive one-two in Germany. However, only a week later, the Red Bulls regained the advantaged in style at the Hungaroring. Massa said he believed the twist in fortunes can be put down to the varying features of the two tracks under consideration.
Massa said the Scuderia side was clearly the fastest at Hockenheim and then only a week later, Red Bull’s RB6 seemed to be in a class of its own compared to other cars on track. The Brazilian elaborated Ferrari’s Austrian rivals had managed to outpace all other teams for a majority of the season so far with the exception of a few isolated events namely the Bahrain and Hungarian campaigns. Massa said it all came down to the unique characteristics of the tracks. For example, the Brazilian continued in Germany, Ferrari had been able to match the Red Bull speed in qualifying, but in the race, the RB6 had been outsmarted by the F10. Yet in Hungary, the Red Bull was 1.2 seconds swifter. Massa believed that it perhaps meant that his Austrian rival had failed to capitalize on their pace to the fullest in Hockenheim.
Despite admitting Red Bull had an edge, Massa, who is back at home in Brazil for the traditional Formula One hiatus from action, is highly content with the performances of his Ferrari car and his fourth-place exploit at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
The Brazilian said he was glad to be home after what he reckoned was one of the most hectic months he had had in his Formula One career. Fortunately, Massa said, all had ended on a positive note that indicated Ferrari were swiftly regaining championship winning form just as they had hoped.
Massa elaborated that although the considerably long hiatus from activity would break the momentum that Ferrari had managed to establish in the past couple of races. He was nevertheless reasonably relieved to say goodbye to Formula One tracks for a while. The Brazilian stressed the importance of taking time off for the technical staff and drivers, saying it was crucial for the entire community to recharge its batteries during the well deserved summer break. Massa revealed that he would be spending the vacation with his family in Brazil and devoting time to his toddler son Felipinho.
The German Grand Prix marked one year to Massa’s life threatening accident at the Hungarian event in 2009 when the Brazilian crashed into the side wall after being hit on the helmet by a component that came off countryman Rubens Barrichello’s car only moments earlier. The head injuries sustained from the crash ruled Massa out of the remainder of the 2009 Formula One season and the Brazilian returned home to hasten his recuperation. Massa was ready to return to action at the start of the 2010 season, and said that although the accident had changed him as a person, professionally he was still very much the same driver.
Although many Formula One commentators reckoned the Brazilian was still reeling from the ghosts of his horrible mishap as witnessed in some of his performances, Massa proved the detractors wrong by his recent return to form at the German and Hungarian Grand Prix’s, where he recorded the second and fourth positions respectively. Massa’s second-place finish in Germany, where he finished second to teammate Fernando Alonso provoked widespread outrage when it became evident that Ferrari had resorted to using team orders effectively. The move resulted in stripping the recuperating Massa of a victory at the expense of Alonso.
The Brazilian expects to be back in action at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit for the year’s Belgian Grand Prix.
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