Mario Andrettin näkemys Ferrarin tämänhetkisestä tilanteesta on mielestäni paras tulkinta tähän mennessä. Tässä copy-paste Autosportilta.
"I think Massa has had a leg up on Raikkonen - being at Ferrari before him, and having twice beaten Michael, let's remember," said Andretti in an interview with Autosport's Nigel Roebuck for the United States Grand Prix website.
"He knows the car, and he knows the people – he's part of the team. And I think Kimi, coming in, probably felt that.
"I don't know Kimi that well, but I always think he looks somewhat ... passive. I don't know if it's that way inside or not. Maybe he doesn't have the team rallying around him as much as you might expect.
"I'm on the outside, looking in, and this is just conjecture, but I was sure that Kimi would immediately take charge, and it doesn't seem to be the case at the moment.
"I'd imagine his character is stronger than Massa's, and I think that ultimately he might endure a high-pressure situation better. My feeling is that it will unfold that way, and it'll be interesting to see if it does."
Andretti believes that Massa currently has the best chance of his career to win the world championship this year.
"It'll be interesting to see whether Felipe can become a reliable team leader at Ferrari," he added.
"You often see drivers with a lot of talent, but without the mental strength to deal with it properly. In the past we've sometimes seen him crumble, but maybe now he's gained enough confidence in himself that that will change. A lot of that will have to do with the support he gets from the team – which I'm told is considerable.
"The kid was always quick, but wild. This is a critical point in his career – if ever he's dreamed of being world champion, he'll never have a better opportunity than now. He threw away a couple of races at the beginning of the year, but then he won the third."
Näkisin että tilanne on hyvinkin vahvasti noin, kuten Mario sanoo. Kriittinen juttu alkaa tässä kohtaa olla, kuinka hyvin Massa tarttuu tuohon mahdollisuuteen voittaa mestaruus. Jotenkin tuntuu että jos se ei nyt onnistu siinä, niin ei se parempaakaan mahdollisuutta tule saaamaan. Miten mies käsittelee tämän, ratkaisee Ferrariin ykkös-kakkoskuski-asetelman loppukauden osalta. Ratkaisevat kisat ovat juuri nyt. Kimin mestaruus-kamppailuun vaikuttaa siis Massankin kyky hallita tilanne, eikä kaikki ole pelkästään omissa käsissä. Mikäli Felippe ajaa kuten tuossa pari kisaa, niin aika vahvalta näyttää Brassi. Mutta jos tulee häsmäköitä ja muita, niin Felippe saattaa kadottaa punaisen langan hommasta.
Mario Andetti tietää helkkarin paljon tuosta F1-maailmasta ja autourheilusta yleensä. Ei ole laisinkaan vähäpätöinen seikka, että mies korostaa tiimin tuen tärkeyttä. Se on kullan arvoinen asia, jonka pitäisi mennä Kimille jakeluun. Mutta kuten Mario tuossa itsekin toteaa, niin kaikkihan tässä ollaan ulkopuolisia.
Ja sitten kommenttia Renaultin tilanteesta, jonka itsekkin allekirjoittaisin täysin.
"I think they underestimated how important the talent of the driver is, and when they lost a real talent - Alonso – they weren't able to replace him," said Andretti in an interview with Autosport's Nigel Roebuck on the United States Grand Prix website.
"(Heikki) Kovalainen is probably a good rookie, but he hasn't shown a hell of a lot yet, and Fisichella is ... well, Fisichella! No matter what you put him in, he will not give you consistent performance."
Andretti does not believe that all of Renault's current difficulties are the result of the team's switch to Bridgestone, and thinks that the signing of Bourdais would be perfect for their circumstances.
"Well, I'll only buy that so much, to be honest with you," Andretti said about the theory that Renault have lost form by the move away from Michelin. "I think it's a great excuse – I remember that's what Ferrari used to say all the time.
"I think if you put Alonso back in that car, he'd have it up to speed in no time. However, he's gone now, and if you ask me, the guy they need is Sebastien Bourdais. To me, he's a hell of a race driver. He ought to be in F1, and I think he would have been a perfect fit with Renault.
"Flavio Briatore's a guy who's proud of not paying superstar money to a driver, but I'm sure if they'd been paying Alonso what he deserved, he might well have stayed there. Maybe they thought they had such a good car that they could get by without a superstar driver, I don't know."
Kuten tuosta tulee ilmi, niin Marion mielestä suurin ongelma Rellulla on johtavan kuskin puuttuminen. Itse uskon, että kauden lopussa Heikki on se, jota talli arvostaa ja joka on pitänyt tiimin moraalin korkealla. Mariolla on kova luotto Bourdaisiin, itse en ehkä noin korkealla nostaisi. Mutta ehdottomasti f1-tallipäälikkön kannattaisi kokeilla, jos itsellä on paha kuskiongelma, kuten Rellulla on.