Massa: It was time for Alonso to change teams

Felipe Massa was Fernando Alonso’s teammate from 2010 to 2013. In an interview with Autosport, the Brazilian driver acknowledges that the Spaniard’s situation at Ferrari was such that a change had to be made.

« Everyone knew that Fernando was going to leave Ferrari, so it wasn’t really news. The team may not have given him the car he hoped for, but maybe he didn’t help Ferrari move forward either. So maybe for him, it’s time to change, » Massa confided.

The current Williams driver does not know if the Maranello team will manage without Fernando Alonso: « If it will be worse or better for Ferrari, I don’t know. Fernando is probably the best driver on the grid, so I don’t know if the team can improve without him. We need to wait and see. But I always wish the best for Ferrari. »

Massa also reflected on his first season at Williams alongside Valtteri Bottas, whom he was able to help and from whom he occasionally benefited because the two men have a similar driving style: « It was good for me, but what was also good for him was that our driving style is not so different. So we had similar setups for many races and if something worked for me, then he could see it, and it was the same the other way around. »

This therefore allows a better comparison than during the Ferrari and Alonso era for the Brazilian: « Fernando is very aggressive with the front of the car, so he uses his front tires more than anyone else, perhaps in Formula 1. Being so aggressive allows him to use the rear well at times, which is good on certain tracks. [Bottas] has a very different driving style compared to Fernando. »