333pg333

Actually if you see the inboard video he had a good initial start equal to Vettel's. It was the 2nd phase that he got overtaken. He always seems to get suckered into covering someone from behind and then someone else gets ahead on the other side. It is a shame to watch as a fan. Also he had KERS issues...YET AGAIN!!!

Eifeler

Even if Fernando slotted in between JEV and Massa he would have pulled away because Ferrari screwed Massa on tires. They put options on Fernando and even though Massa came in second, they put him on primes.

DreamCarrera

That is what it looked like to me as well. Off the line, it seemed like MW was just as fast as SV(maybe for the 1st 60 ft. or so). However, after that Vettel's car accelerated noticeably faster than Webber's. It was almost as if Mark was short shifting or perhaps holding the gears a bit too long.

Do they use the KERS system at the start??? If so, this could help explain Webber's poor starts given the fact that the KERS in Webber's car rarely works properly...LOL

My993C2

Not right away, they need a little momentum before they can engage KERS. Not much momentum, only about 60 kph, which is probably only a second or so. But there is a short delay before KERS is used

333pg333

Lol...Don't think Webber is going to be wounded by your 'educated' asssement of his skills. Yet again he had KERS issues and Vettel didn't.

RajDatta

Massa was put on primes because he had to run 16 laps compared to Alonso, who came in 6 laps later. The softs would have never lasted 16 laps. Massa would have been a sitting duck. The choice to pick which tire and when, is something Rob Smedley, his race Engineer and Massa agree upon. Massa had a say in that decision.

RajDatta

It is amazing how everything always happens to Webbo. I guess Webbo and Vettel are not driving the same car after all. Looks like Webbo gets the cheap Chinese imitation

RajDatta

Massa was spared some shame actually. Alonso would have dusted him on his new set. He dusted Lewis and DiResta as well. He also happened to have set the fastest lap of the race on that set.

But of course, hate will prevent you from ever accepting that.

Flying Finn

Regarding Alonso's pit,exit & 4 wheels off, I didn't care that much as he would've passed on next straight but if you look at that and compare it for example Massa at Hungary, I don't see the reasoning why there was no penalty for Alonso, especially,for their tough talk about 4 wheels off penalties.

I hate the whole rule, just,do the tracks so that there are consequences if you go off, there tracks where outside of track is just asphalt painted with different color are creating this nonsense.
Bring back gravel (like in Suzuka), put down glue or something instead of paint.

Massa did have a say in that, he wanted softs which in the end with light weight and a lot of rubber on track should've lasted.
However, the team put primes against Massa's preference...

paradisenb

Massa even said as much in the post-race interview. The 'options' would have been good for all 16 laps. Felipe had already done more than that (19) in a previous stint and the track was cooling.
He would have taken 5th. Alonso was gifted Massa's 5th place. He did not earn it.

RajDatta

Massa frustrated with final tyre call
04 November 2013

Felipe Massa: We made a mistake at the end. I didn't expect to use the medium tyres in the last stint as well. I expected to use the soft...

Felipe Massa has criticised Ferrari and believes he would 'easily' have finished in the top-five in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix had the team put him on soft tyres following his second and final stop.

Massa had to settle for eighth at the chequered flag and the Brazilian pulled no punches at the finish, telling reporters it was clearly a 'mistake' to put him on the medium compound tyres, given he had done 19 laps on the softs at the start, and there was only 17 laps to go when he made his second trip to the pits on lap 38.

“We made a mistake at the end,” Massa confirmed. “I didn't expect to use the medium tyres in the last stint as well. I expected to use the soft. I did 19 laps at the beginning of the race and was the best car on the soft and then we decided to stop at the last moment the second time. I expected to see the soft tyres on the car and I saw the other ones.

“That was the mistake of my race - it would not have been a problem to do the same [use the soft tyres] in the final part of the race [as we had done at the start]. Without this problem, I would have easily finished in the top five.

“It is a real shame. I would have got completely behind [Jean-Eric] Vergne and passed him in two laps. I would have passed [Lewis] Hamilton easily on the new tyres too because I would have been one second quicker. That was the mistake. I didn't discuss the strategy with the engineers because I thought the decision was obvious.”

“This [P8] is not the result we deserved,” he added. “It is frustrating and I'm not happy. I am still pleased with my performance though. I did a great race and I was competitive from start to finish and pulled off a lot of passing moves with a car that handled well. Now we head for Texas and Brazil, two tracks that on paper should suit our car better and where I hope I can continue to be competitive.”

Asked if Ferrari had deliberately put him on the mediums, so as to allow team-mate, Fernando Alonso to finish ahead, Massa replied: “For sure not. They need these points and need to score as many as possible for the Constructors' [to get back ahead of Mercedes and into second place]. The team would never do something like that to me. I believe in this team and will believe in them until the last moment [in Brazil later this month, my final race with Ferrari].”
Ferrari technical guru, Pat Fry meanwhile defended the decision to put Massa on the mediums by saying they were playing it safe.

“Initially, we had thought of running just a one stop race, but when we realised that that the wear rate of the mediums in the second stint would not have allowed us to go all the way to the end, while doing competitive times, backed up by our simulation systems, we told Fernando and Felipe to go flat out, as they would need to make a second stop. With Fernando, we managed to get to lap 44 which meant he was able to run the softs to the end of the race. Unfortunately, we couldn't do the same with Felipe and with him we chose not to risk it, keeping him on the mediums. It was a real shame,” he said.

“The two F138s proved they had a good pace, however, definitely better in the lower temperatures and both drivers were involved in close fights and made spectacular passing moves," Fry continued.

"In the last two races, we must now improve, especially in qualifying, because only by starting further forward can we put ourselves in a position to fight [with Mercedes] for second place in the Constructors' Championship,” he concluded.

Now, on to the haters..

ltc

Valium...$2.50
Straight jacket ... $500
The best driver in F1, driving for the best team in F1, failing to win another WDC ...Priceless

DreamCarrera

Which supports my observation that MW was as fast as SV off the line but after about a second or so Vettel's car started to easily pull away from Webber.

Has anyone ever looked closely at MW's car for a "Made in China" sticker? My guess is that only certain parts on Webber's car are from China; like his KERS, wheel nuts, etc. Is Webber really that much harder on the car than Vettel? I doubt it. Maybe they only use two tools to work on Webber's car, a monkey wrench and a hammer.


If Vettel had even half the problems with his car that Webber has had, Alonso would probably be leading the WDC at this point and the last two races would be VERY exciting.

500

You might find it interesting to research the number of times Vettel has had what was looking like a good chance of a race victory taken away by either an outright car failure or problem. 2010 in particular had of lot of bad luck going Vettel's way.

Although this season has seen Webber have more problems, you really have to look at the whole picture.

RajDatta

I feel sorry for your kid. Can't imagine how he handles the weight of not wanting to be failure in daddy's eyes. I pray that he wins every race or the poor boy will be scarred for life.