‘Ferrari was splitting in the middle,’ Felipe Massa points out Fernando Alonso as his ‘most difficult’ teammate

‘Ferrari was splitting in the middle,’ Felipe Massa points out Fernando Alonso as his ‘most difficult’ teammate

Fernando Alonso (L) and Felipe Massa (R)

Fernando Alonso is doubtless one of the greatest racing drivers ever. While his record is certainly great, many feel that it doesn’t measure up to what he truly deserved or could have got. Despite a great career and wide recognition, the Spaniard has often attracted controversy – whether for his comments in the media or to the team, or about his teammates. He has a history of having ‘problems’ with his teammates – Esteban Ocon being the latest example.

The first example is Lewis Hamilton (back in 2007 at McLaren), even though the relationship improved after they were no longer teammates. But there’s also Felipe Massa, who was Alonso’s teammate for four seasons (2010 – 2013) at Ferrari. During this time, the Brazilian mostly played second fiddle – and his highest finish was sixth.

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Recently, in an interview with swiatwyscigow.pl, Massa cited Alonso as his most difficult teammate (on the other hand, he felt his time with Michael Schumacher was a ‘great experience’): “Yeah, yeah, for sure.” when asked to describe ‘in which ways’, the Brazilian said: “First of all, he was an amazing driver. There’s nothing you can say. But it was quite difficult to work together inside the team, you know.”

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During their time as teammates, Massa felt that Ferrari was ‘splitting in the middle’ – not exactly ideal for any team: “Actually, the team was splitting in the middle. And in the end, it was not good for the result of the team. And also, for me, I didn’t feel strong enough to work, to make the team listen to me. That was quite hard. But anyway, it was also some learning around as well.”

Read More: “Many, many problems,” Felipe Massa lambasts Ferrari flaws in 2022

Felipe Massa thinks better of his time with Michael Schumacher than with Fernando Alonso

Felipe Massa (L) and Michael Schumacher (R)
Felipe Massa (L) and Michael Schumacher (R)

In rather stark contrast to what he said about his time with Fernando Alonso, Felipe Massa only had good things to say about his time as Michael Schumacher’s teammate. He replaced another Brazilian there, Rubens Barrichello, and was on the Ferrari roster with Schumacher for a season (2006) before the German’s first retirement.

Massa felt that he was ‘lucky’ to experience being Schumacher’s teammate. The Brazilian said: “It was great. I mean, it was a great experience. It was a great time to be able to be teammates with Michael Schumacher. I learned a lot from him. He was an amazing driver. The way he was working… We were very close as well. In the end I was lucky to be part of that experience.”

Massa’s most successful time at Ferrari came with neither of these drivers – but instead with Kimi Raikkonen. The two of them piled together to win Ferrari the constructors’ titles in 2007 and 2008. Raikkonen won the Drivers’ title in 2007, while Massa got very close to doing so – until the last lap, he looked destined to be world champion. The P2 in 2008 is obviously his best finish ever, and he finished just a single point behind Lewis Hamilton.

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