Massa considers Alonso “even more perfect” than Schumacher
In an interview with Sky Sports television, Felipe Massa - who had not yet announced his departure from Ferrari - opened up about his career, noting in particular that Fernando Alonso was his best teammate. He also reflected on his career and his desire to continue.
After 8 seasons of good and loyal service, Felipe Massa will leave Scuderia Ferrari at the end of the season and will therefore not wear the red suit of the Maranello constructor during the 2014 Formula 1 season. Replaced by Kimi Räikkönen, with whom he teamed up from 2007 to 2009, the Brazilian will leave behind a second place in the 2008 world championship, which will remain for a long time one of the most epic seasons of the past fifteen years.
But Felipe Massa can also boast of having experienced the cream of Formula 1 drivers of this generation as he also teamed up with Michael Schumacher in 2006 and with Fernando Alonso from 2010 to 2013. The Paulista, in an interview with Martin Brundle for Sky Sports before confirming his departure, even ventured into the always very perilous exercise of comparison.
« I have always had very strong teammates. I have always learned that you have to be perfect because otherwise, they will be ahead of you, » he confessed, before noting: « Obviously, I have had difficult moments. The one I struggled with the most was Alonso. I think he is the most complete. »
And what about Michael Schumacher in all this? « [He] was very, very good. He was exceptional and a very complete driver as well. But I think Alonso is perhaps even more perfect. »
Interviewed later about his career and the assessment he makes of his 12 seasons in the top category – three with Sauber in 2002, 2004, and 2005, and nine with Ferrari in 2003 as a test driver then from 2006 to 2013 – Massa believes he is capable of even more and is not fully satisfied: « I think it’s impossible to be. I think when you are happy with everything you have done, you stop. So, I am not happy. I want more. I want to win more races, I want to achieve more pole positions. So, when you are not happy, you have to try to do more. »
Felipe Massa is currently looking for a seat for the 2014 season: two options seem to be favored. First, the one leading to Sauber, whose Ferrari engine could work in favor of the Sao Paulo driver, as well as his knowledge of the team for which he raced early in his career. Second, the one leading to the Lotus team, whose seat left vacant by Kimi Räikkönen is of interest to many drivers, with the favorite still being Nico Hülkenberg, who will not continue with Sauber next year.
