Felipe Massa’s formula one career is on the brink of collapse.

Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali left Barcelona insisting he expects the struggling Brazilian to “fight back starting in Monaco”.

“We absolutely need his points to also fight for the constructors’ title,” he said.

Earlier, the Maranello based team said on Twitter that Ferrari is “disappointed with” the 30-year-old’s performance.

When asked about that comment, a Ferrari spokesman told the Sunday Times: “It was a poor choice of grammar. We are disappointed in the outcome of Felipe but not with Felipe himself.”

But the very latest development is that Ferrari is now making it abundantly clear that Massa needs to up his game immediately.

In a statement posted on its official website, Ferrari said Massa’s teammate Fernando Alonso “has always maintained a very high level”.

As for Massa, his “drop off has made itself felt”, the report stated.

“The Brazilian had picked up 49 points two years ago and 24 the following year, while so far this season he has just 2,” said Ferrari.

“Everyone, he more than anyone, is expecting a change of gear starting right away with the Monaco grand prix”, the statement concluded.

Even Massa’s strongest supporters in Brazil, like the O Globo journalist Celso Itibere, admit the situation is dire.

“He is at risk,” said Itibere, “his decline is progressive, he is failing to react and he runs the real risk of not finishing the season.

“At this time Ferrari has no one to take the job. Everyone they would like to have there – Perez, Kobayashi, Webber – are not available.”

Tuesday’s edition of the Italian sports daily Corriere dello Sport will report that Massa’s ousting is imminent.

And the latest edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport did not even once mention Massa’s name. “It is as though he does not exist,” wrote the Brazilian journalist Livio Oricchio in O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper.

“Yet it is an Italian newspaper, and he is a Ferrari driver.”

When asked if he fears for his F1 career, Massa said in Barcelona last weekend: “No. I live in the present. What will happen will happen.”

Asked if he is afraid another bad performance will seal his fate, Massa insisted: “I’m not afraid of anything, especially criticism. It doesn’t affect me.”

Fernando Alonso was spared the Italian media’s wrath after Ferrari opened its 2012 campaign with the troubled F2012 car.
“Alonso once again saved Ferrari from disaster,” said the authoritative La Gazzetta dello Sport, after the Spanish driver drove the car to fifth place in Australia.

The under-pressure Felipe Massa’s opening race, however, “was a nightmare”, the daily newspaper added.

Jaime Alguersuari, the former Toro Rosso driver who is now a media analyst, also praised fellow Spaniard Alonso.

“For Ferrari, it is an unique advantage to have a driver like Fernando Alonso,” he told El Mundo newspaper.

“He did a sensational Sunday, with intelligence and ambition, which will push and raise the team, I’m sure.”

Alonso remains confident.

“There may be cars quicker than us now,” he is quoted by Britain’s Daily Mail, “but it’s like Manchester United or Chelsea who play badly for a game but still win 1-0.

“Before this race we were working 24 hours (a day),” Alonso is quoted by Marca, “now it must be 25.”

The Spanish press, however, is livid.

“The fifth place is really a miracle,” said the sports daily Marca. “The car is ridiculous, rendering the team a midfielder.”

Jenson Button, meanwhile, received universal praise from the international press corps, as did the fact that Red Bull’s dominance appears to have been knocked by McLaren.

“That’s good news for everybody except (Sebastian) Vettel,” insisted Corriere dello Sport.

The fight, however, has just begun.

“Vettel turned the middling new Red Bull into a good race car,” said Gazzetta, referring to the German’s performance on Sunday, “which is a warning to the opposition.

“He is still the world champion, and he will be hunting his first triumph of the year in Sepang.”

Tuttosport, meanwhile, said Mercedes – which until Sunday’s race was the talk of the Melbourne paddock – was the “big disappointment” of the 2012 opener.

Ferrari has made a “devastating start” to the 2012 season, the Italian sports newspaper Corriere dello Sport has blasted.

“The new season could barely have begun worse,” said the report.

Felipe Massa qualified sixteenth for Sunday’s Australian grand prix, while Fernando Alonso also failed to make the ‘Q3′ cut when he spun into the gravel.

“There are deficiencies with the aerodynamics, with the tyres and the speed,” the Spaniard is quoted as saying.

Added Massa: “I have the impression that the car has deteriorated compared to winter testing.”

Looking on the bright side, however, Alonso said Ferrari’s situation is actually better than it was a year ago.

“In 2011 we started with a deficit of 1.4 seconds, so we have recovered four tenths. Last year our first victory was in July, so this year we need to do it before.”

La Stampa, a major Italian daily, sees it differently.

“A year ago there was one car (Red Bull) clearly stronger than Ferrari, now there is McLaren in front, Mercedes and Lotus as well, and Toro Rosso and Force India improving …”

Massa agrees: “We were more competitive in 2011.”

Alonso, however, is staying positive for now.

“The tests in Barcelona were worse (than Australia), so it means that we have chosen the right path. We must improve and we must do it quickly,” he said.

Ferrari has set to work to fix a problem at the rear of its troubled F2012 car, Italy’s Autosprint reports.
The report said initial winter testing highlighted problems with the car’s exhaust solution, prompting Pat Fry to order the outlets be moved inwards.

This, however, left the homologated portion of the chassis that housed the original exhausts intact, with modification to require a new FIA crash test.

“I want to understand what is happening, and how many seconds it will take to be fixed,” president Luca di Montezemolo is quoted as having said.

Triple world champion Niki Lauda is alarmed.

“I have never heard comments like this from within a team — this is dramatic,” the great Austrian told Blick newspaper.

However, the Swiss newspaper also said some of Ferrari’s rivals are making similar modifications to their cars that will require new FIA crash tests.

Even so, “nobody at Maranello expected this”, wrote the famous Italian sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Corriere dello Sport, meanwhile, said the fact Ferrari gagged its drivers for the first time ever recently is “more worrying than the testing results”.

Test driver Marc Gene told Spanish television Antena 3: “This will be a very long world championship, and we will fight to win.

“At the moment we are not at the level we wanted to be.”

It is faintly possible Ferrari is playing an extreme hand of bluff, but Lauda insists that theory is now believed by “only a few”.

“They’ve got a great team,” Red Bull team boss Christian Horner told Sky Sports, “they haven’t fully shown their hand yet. I think they’re more competitive than people believe they are.

“I’m sure the car looks a handful but sometimes a difficult car can be a quick car so it would be foolish to write off Fernando (Alonso) going into Melbourne,” he added.

 Five days before the W03 is publicly revealed, Mercedes remains highly secretive about its 2012 car.
The German squad went a different path than all of its main formula one rivals by opting to keep its new machine at the Brackley factory rather than debut and test it last week at Jerez.

Michael Schumacher will do the first laps in the silver car next Tuesday, as the first of eight days of Barcelona testing kicks off ahead of next month’s season opener in Australia.

Mercedes leaked out some ‘teaser’ images of the W03 this week, but all carefully masking the detail of the single seater, including the ‘step’ nose solution.

“I assume that they want to hide something from the competition,” surmised Red Bull designer Adrian Newey, according to Germany’s Sport Bild.

“It must be something that can be copied quite quickly, otherwise they wouldn’t try so hard to keep it secret.”

Agreed Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko: “They seem to have something special at the front of the car.”

Ferrari is reportedly likening the situation to when the team – then called Brawn GP – arrived late with the famous ‘double diffuser’ and duly went on to win the title.

The Corriere dello Sport website cited a Ferrari official in recalling Brawn was “like Cinderella” in sweeping in at the last moment and keeping her trick secret.

“It’s a calculated risk,” team boss Ross Brawn, quoted in Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport, insisted when contemplating the 2012 car’s late reveal.

Luca di Montezemolo has rejected calls Ross Brawn should be lured back to Ferrari.
Ferrari has not won a drivers’ title since 2007 but the Maranello marque’s president Montezemolo insisted at Monza that he fully supports the reign of team boss Stefano Domenicali.

“The management of the team will remain unchanged,” the Italian added this week at the Frankfurt Motor Show, according to Finland’s Turun Sanomat newspaper.

“There are some small repairs to make, but it is not related to the key positions.”

Elements of the Italian media and Ferrari’s passionate ‘Tifosi’ have suggested the team should reunite with Briton Brawn, its former technical director, and once again have designer Rory Byrne in a key role.

“The hiring of Ross Brawn has been proposed but surely it can be seen how hard he has had it at Mercedes,” Montezemolo insisted.

“We have chosen the path of stability,” he continued.

“Should I be sorry?” he is quoted as saying by Corriere della Sera. “No, because we are always among the protagonists.

“The abolition of track testing penalised us strongly, as ours is a culture of the mechanical, unlike the English (culture of) aerodynamics.

“And then there are the rules that are too restrictive on the engines, with the technicians frustrated with their inability to increase the horse power,” added Montezemolo.

Ferrari will finally follow Red Bull’s lead with the suspension layout of its 2012 car.
That is the claim of the Italian daily Corriere dello Sport, revealing that a scale model of the Maranello based team’s new car is already clocking up the miles in the wind tunnel.

With its 2011 design, the 150 Italia, Ferrari raised some eyebrows by sticking with its usual push-road suspension philosophy rather than opting for Red Bull’s pull-rod layout.

“At Maranello, everything has been called into question in light of the unsatisfactory results of this season,” said the Italian newspaper report.

“The (pull-rod) system will allow for a lower and smaller rear end but it will appear only next season,” added Corriere dello Sport.

“In the last six races of this year, even in the races, mechanical and aerodynamic parts (for 2012) will be tested.”

Luca di Montezemolo has been challenged to pledge his support or otherwise to Italy’s historic grand prix venue Monza.

The challenge was thrown out by Monica Rizzi, the regional sports councillor for Lombardy, the governing region of the famous Autodromo Nazionale.

Rome mayor Gianni Alemanno is confident the streets of the Italian capital will host F1 as early as 2012, insisting the event would not threaten Monza’s annual date.

But Rizzi does see Rome’s bid as a threat to Monza, urging Ferrari president Montezemolo to join those opposed to the extra Italian race.

“Monza is part of the history of our region, it is among the most popular on the formula one calendar and our pride since 1922.  Hands off,” she is quoted as having told Corriere dello Sport.

“I think it’s time for di Montezemolo to say whether Ferrari is for or against (a race in Rome).  As most Ferraris are sold in the north of Italy, I think it would be appropriate,” added Rizzi.

Interviewed today for “Corriere della Sera,” Niki Lauda denied having made the comments published on formula1.com that had woken the Horse Whisperer in its silent lair.

Informed of the clarification, the Whisperer had this to say: “I am very pleased Niki has denied making these statements: it shows that fresh air is really good for you!”

Source: Ferrari

F1′s harsh spotlight of the international media is shining on Ferrari and Fernando Alonso, but also the regulation prohibiting team orders.

In a frosty post-race press conference at Hockenheim, some reporters warned Spaniard Alonso he now risks winning a “dirty” championship, comparing his win at the hands of an illegal team order to his victory at Singapore in 2008.

“That’s your opinion,” the Ferrari driver told them.

Team orders, of course – dating back to the gentleman racer’s days when number two drivers would pull into the pits to hand over their cars – are nothing new.

“This was just handled very badly,” said Lotus’ Mike Gascoyne.

And Ferrari’s handling in Germany, with Felipe Massa ordered aside by way of a coded message from apologetic engineer Rob Smedley, fuelled the media’s fire.

“I am glad that the media in the paddock are kind of like our police,” remarked Alex Wurz.

But according to Spain’s Marca sports daily, “the English press showed no mercy” for a driver who clashed so memorably with Lewis Hamilton back in 2007.

The Sunday Express called Alonso and Ferrari “dirty, thieving cheats”, while even the milder Daily Telegraph admitted that the World Motor Sport Council could in theory disqualify the famous team from formula one at an August meeting.

“A suspension for a number of races is another possibility,” said the Daily Mail.

Triple world champion Niki Lauda scolded Alonso for blatantly denying he had won the race thanks to a team order.  The Independent newspaper said “nobody was fooled” by Alonso’s argument that he wasn’t aware of the fix.

“I’ve never heard a driver talk such bullshit.  He has no character,” said Austrian great Lauda.

Dr Helmut Marko, under fire for some recent decisions at Red Bull, revelled in the change of fortune.

“It is unbelievable how awkwardly they demonstrated who is their number one.  The FIA must react with a drastic punishment,” he is quoted by Blick.

The Swiss newspaper’s correspondent agreed: “There are different ways for Alonso to return to the throne.  Lying and cheating should not be one of them.”

Even the usually partisan AS newspaper remarked: “Alonso deserved to win the German grand prix, but not like this.  Domenicali has confirmed his true ineptitude by giving Massa obvious team orders that are prohibited by the rules.”

Said Brazil’s Folha de S.Paulo: “It was an insult to the sport.”

Rio de Janeiro’s Lance added: “We regret writing it, but from Massa it was a lack of courage.”

Rubens Barrichello, whose move for Michael Schumacher in 2002 motivated the team order ban, said: “I will speak to Felipe myself.  Nothing has changed at Ferrari.

“I think you can read my opinion better from my face,” he stormily told Brazilian radio Jovem Pan.

Said French newspaper Liberation: “Ferrari is a team unlike another; when not undermined by political intrigue, they shoot themselves in the foot.”

La Libre wondered how the FIA is going to react at the World Motor Sport Council: “Would Jean Todt dare punish his old team for a practice he applied himself?  We honestly doubt it.”

Another side of the story is what Renault’s customer engine boss Fabric Lom described on Europe 1 radio as the “hypocrisy” of the current regulations.

Agreed Italy’s Corriere dello Sport: “It is fair to recognise that the problem is in the regulations.”

Rome daily Il Tempo said Ferrari “did the right thing in the wrong way”, and Spain’s El Mundo said the team order ban is “a regulation that penalises team interests”.

Italy’s Autosprint marvelled that Ferrari was “fined for teamwork!”

Said Britain’s Telegraph: “Ferrari were caught and they must pay.  But the rule is unenforceable.  To pretend otherwise is deluded.”

Mercedes’ Norbert Haug does not quite agree: “We need to think of the spectators.  They want to see fights on the track, not these actions.

“The different teams have different attitudes about team orders.”

To the Spanish press, Alonso argued: “The ones who pay us are the team, not the newspapers or anyone else, and now Ferrari is taking 43 points back to Italy.

“And that is what we have to do — what is best for the team.  On Friday I was faster, I was second in qualifying and faster than Felipe in the race.  I don’t think the slower driver won this race,” he added.