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#815 2009 Belgian Grand Prix

2021-12-31 00:00

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#2009, Fulvio Conti, Translated by Giulia Montemurro,

#815 2009 Belgian Grand Prix

The only sign that the accident in Budapest has left on the forehead of Felipe Massa, who will be replaced by Giancarlo Fisichella, is that long scar

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The only sign that the accident in Budapest has left on the forehead of Felipe Massa, who will be replaced by Giancarlo Fisichella, is that long scar that starts from the left eyebrow and almost reaches the ear.

 

"But that too will disappear, because at the end of the championship I intend to have plastic surgery".

 

In an interview published by the newspaper O Estado de Sao Paulo, the Brazilian driver reveals other details of that Saturday at the Hungaroring that changed his life, from the impact with the spring to the boring convalescence in his residence in Sao Paulo.

 

"I'm not afraid, for one simple reason: those moments don't belong in my life. I don't remember them and I felt no pain. I'll come back stronger than before".

 

But someone at home got scared beyond measure.

 

"I first saw the pictures when I returned to Brazil. At one point a doctor crossed his forearms high as if to say that there was nothing more that could be done. Imagine the reaction of my wife Raffaela (six months pregnant, ed)".

 

He calls it a ridiculous, absurd accident:

 

"Things that can happen in F1 without a driver making any mistakes".

 

He didn't see the spring approaching his helmet at 260 km/h, or maybe he saw it a fraction of a second before the impact that knocked him out, no one will ever know, because the light went out and his brain erased those moments. Even the following ones, when Felipe Massa complained and put his hand on the helmet at the height of the wound. The first thing Massa tried to do three days later, upon waking up in the Aek hospital in Budapest, was to tear off the artificial respirator tube. Then he asked if his conditions were serious and if he would return to racing. Received reassurances from his doctor and friend, Dino Altman, he said that he would be back for the European Grand Prix and argued with his wife who tried to dissuade him, while the bed neighbor murmured:

 

"This is crazy".

 

In the first days he alternated a couple of hours of wakefulness with the same number of sleep, then impatience took over.

 

"I looked like an elephant. I had a mini television which only received broadcasts in Hungarian. And no internet. A terrible bore. At one point I got up and said: I'm leaving".

 

Not that life at home and forced rest is any more fun.

 

"I watch DVD movies, surf the internet, but no sports. The doctors explained to me that in this way the healing will be faster. I don't get fat because I eat little, as I always do".

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At the moment, Felipe Massa would not be able to withstand the vibrations of a single-seater and even the sight of him is not what it used to be. On the contrary: at first his left eye worried a lot.

 

"In the first exam they gave me, I had recovered about 40% of functionality, two weeks later I was at 80%, now we have reached 95%".

 

The rest works: the brain has not suffered damage, despite an operation to remove the broken bone that pressed on the gray matter, and the internal organs have absorbed well a terrible impact against the protective barriers. The pilot claims that his reasoning and his behavior are unchanged, as confirmed by family members. He recalls an even more serious accident for a brake problem, and without consequences for his career. One of the buttons on the steering wheel had lodged in his helmet, such was the violence of the bang. They tell him about Niki Lauda, who after the fire in 1976 had a sort of panic attack while riding in Monza and was forced to stop, yet won two other World Championships.

 

"I don't think the same thing will happen to me, because I don't remember what happened. From a psychological point of view, trauma does not exist. Like any other driver, I would get back behind the wheel in the morning".

 

At the beginning of September he will be scanned again by a CT scan. Then, if all goes well, he will undergo the FIA exams in view of returning to the track, even if no one dares to set a date. To replace him, Ferrari had thought of Michael Schumacher.

 

"I know, Michael came to see me and told me about his test at Mugello with Ferrari in 2007. He explained to me that his neck hurt and that when he climbed the curbs he lost his sight a bit due to the vibrations. He was upset. Then the doctor forbade him to run and he was very ill".

 

Now it's Luca Badoer's turn. Sweatshirts Massa takes the liberty of giving advice:

 

"He has to commit himself on two fronts: physical preparation and studying on the simulator. Having a circuit in the lead saves you time to work on the car".

 

Desire is stronger than ailments: Michael Schumacher has tasted the flavor of Formula 1 again and, like the ex-smoker who lights up a cigarette after years, he can't stop. His manager Willi Weber announces:

 

"In two weeks, during the Monza Grand Prix, something will happen".

 

Something concerning the contract of the German driver, retired at the end of 2006, consultant and test driver for Ferrari since 2007, failed replacement for Felipe Massa in this last part of the season. Weber explained:

 

"Ferrari has understood how important Michael is".

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The clues for a sensational comeback are merging: the German continues to train to overcome the physical flaws that blocked him in mid-August, when the world expected to see him in the car which was then assigned to Luca Badoer. Until July, and to be exact until the accident that put Felipe Massa out of the game, the relationship between the Maranello team and the German seemed destined to die out at the end of 2009. Now the negotiations are starting from scratch.

 

"You can't know what will happen. One thing is certain: Ferrari is a part of Michael's life and always will be".

 

The future depends on Felipe Massa. The news about his health is good, not very good: there are still small clots of blood in the Brazilian's brain, consequences of the impact with a spring at 260 km / h during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix. Thursday 27 August 2009, assures Dino Altman, trusted doctor of the Massa family:

 

"The CT scan done two days ago shows an almost complete recovery. But a big risk remains: that of the second trauma. Felipe will soon be able to get back on track, but a new accident would have very serious consequences".

 

This is the reason why the Brazilian will go on Saturday 29th August 2009 in Miami to the neurologist Steve Olvey, Formula Cart doctor.

 

"He is one of the leading experts on the subject. He works closely with the riders and knows the problem".

 

There is the possibility that the return to F1 will be postponed for a few months and that Ferrari will be forced to start next season with an unprecedented pair. Kimi Raikkonen's sacking is no longer so obvious. The Finn alongside Fernando Alonso is the most logical hypothesis, Michael Schumacher with Fernando Alonso the fascinating one. If the main teams then line up three single-seaters, the question won't even arise: the dream team will be on the track, awaiting Felipe Massa's recovery. In Maranello they take time. The announcement of the 2010 training, scheduled for Monza, has been postponed. The state of health of the Brazilian driver will be known on Monday 31 August 2009. In the meantime it's up to Luca Badoer. Friday 28 August 2009, in Spa, during the first day of practice for the Belgian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton and McLaren set the fastest time, the Red Bull Racing cars of Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel are faster than the Brawn GP cars of Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello. While Kimi Raikkonen and Ferrari are in third position, behind the surprising Timo Glock driving the Toyota. Friday's practice must be taken with caution, but they do provide some indications for qualifying. First of all, it seems that in the most difficult and spectacular circuit of the World Championship, developed over 7004 meters of breathtaking ups and downs, bends and straights, there is a great balance. On Friday there are nineteen riders enclosed in just over a second. Still last, therefore twentieth, Luca Badoer, 2.010 seconds behind Lewis Hamilton. Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali says:

 

"We expect his performance improvement trend to continue over the weekend".

 

The Italian driver admits to having problems:

 

"I still haven't found the ideal car set-up for my driving style. But I have one goal: to be able to get through the first qualifying session".

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And then he reveals that he's already testing some elements of the Ferrari 2010. And, while waiting for Fernando Alonso to arrive in Maranello, the Spanish driver succeeds in his first miracle: the multiplication of euros. His transfer to Maranello, according to estimates coming from Spain, will yield 900.000.000 euros to Banco Santander (promised sponsor of Ferrari), 120.000.000 euros for Ferrari and 90.000.000 euros for the driver over the three-year period. A few euros will also go to McLaren, which loses the lender's trademark a year early on the contract. No one loses, everyone gains. The only details to be defined are the dates of the announcement. According to the newspaper El Mundo, the sponsorship agreement will be announced on Thursday 10 September 2009 in Monza, on the sidelines of the Italian Grand Prix. Instead, we will have to wait a few months to find out about Ferrari's official line-up, because Felipe Massa's physical conditions call for caution. From 1 November 2009, after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso will disappear from the public scene: he will have to keep away from media events, avoid interviews, abstain from any statement. He will be able to reappear after the official announcement that from 2010 he will drive a car from Maranello and present himself directly at the vernissage of the new car, scheduled for the first half of January, and from there move to the track for the first tests. The numbers of this financial mechanism that produces money are simple: the third bank in Europe by capitalization with 85.200.000.000 euros, Santander discovered Formula 1 in 2006 with McLaren. Every euro invested in advertising on British single-seaters earned him four. Having conquered the British market, he decided to link himself to Ferrari, believing that the Maranello team makes almost twice as much as its rival: the 40.000.000 euros paid annually to link his brand to Fernando Alonso and those with him (Felipe Massa, Kimi Raikkonen or Michael Schumacher) can become 300.000.000 euros. 

 

Much will depend on the results. Two times World Champion, the Spaniard has one advantage over other speed phenomena: he gives excellent indications to the technicians, who thus understand how to develop the single-seater. With him, Renault achieved success in just a few years, and McLaren returned to the top after a series of disappointing seasons. Santander will become the second commercial partner of the Maranello team after Marlboro, and will bring sufficient funds to pay the penalty in the event that Kimi Raikkonen is cut at the end of the year (the Finnish driver is under contract until December 2010, and he stresses this in every interview, except to specify that he is not afraid of being unemployed). And if the Maranello single-seaters that will take to the track will be three, and the third belongs to Michael Schumacher, the accounts should be revised upwards, because the former World Champion is another added value of Formula 1. An example? His caps from the comeback line are on sale in the stalls around the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. They cost 20 euros but, like the famous wrong stamp of 1961, they will never be in force. The former German driver has had 20.000 produced and they are selling like hot cakes: after deducting 50% of expenses, he will put 200.000 euros in his pocket. Meanwhile, Luca Badoer's nightmare is almost over. An hour and a half of the Grand Prix, then Ferrari will thank him for his commitment. In Maranello they recognize the improvements, but they understood, with guilty delay, that they will never lead to a useful placement: even if he shaves another second off his opponents in Monza, Felipe Massa's replacement would not go beyond eighteenth place. And it would be cruel to expose him to the ridicule of his home crowd. Foreigners have already become furious, crippling its name to bad you are. The only one who hasn't grasped the situation is him:

 

"I think I'll be at Monza, because they told me I would replace Massa until he returns".

 

Just as he didn't notice other things: for example that he had run over a rabbit, or that he braked so late in the qualifying lap that he ended up off the track. Speed detectors along the circuit recorded it at 324.3 km/h in a stretch where nobody exceeded 315 km/h. Clumsy defense of him:

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"Vettel's fault, he had to give me the way".

 

His theory is unacceptable:

 

"I was doing a perfect lap".

 

The sentence is a last place, an embarrassing time and a shattered suspension. For the first time Ferrari does not defend him. Indeed, he lets him talk freely in front of notebooks and cameras.

 

"I am satisfied because I am improving. The only thing I don't like are the newspapers that write badly about me. I don't read them, but people get influenced".

 

Monza?

 

"It's my race, there I will finally take the step forward that everyone expects".

 

Giancarlo Fisichella?

 

"I don't think it is part of Ferrari's plans. In Valencia you spoke badly of the Italians: what do you have to say now that there are two in the front row?"

 

Nothing. They have entrusted him with a task for which he was not prepared: the best chance of his life at the worst moment of his career, under the test ban.

 

"I'm a fast rider, I'm not a stationary one. I proved it in nine years with Ferrari, when you could try out freely during the week".

 

To those who object that a Ferrari has probably never qualified twice in a row with the last time with a functioning single-seater, the Italian driver replies:

 

"There is always a first time".

 

Michael Schumacher should have been in his place, but he still has pain in his cervical vertebrae. It was the German himself who suggested that Ferrari promote Luca Badoer. The mistake has now been made. In order not to persevere, in Maranello they are looking for an expert driver, capable of getting behind the wheel and achieving results in the shortest possible time. For this reason, the hiring of a young man or a repechage by Marc Gené, the other test driver, cannot be ruled out. Giancarlo Fisichella and Jarno Trulli remain the most probable names.

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"It would take me a day to understand how to drive a Ferrari".

 

Giancarlo Fisichella thus buries Luca Badoer, and presents the official candidacy. The pole position achieved on Saturday 29 August with Force India at Spa, Belgium, is an excellent reference, the right result at the right time. In Maranello they need a driver who learns quickly and places regularly in the top eight.

 

"I'm able to get within a few tenths of Raikkonen and bring points for third place in the Constructors' Championship".

 

Giancarlo Fisichella already speaks as a Ferrari driver. Then, for a moment he brakes:

 

"They haven't called me, there's no contact, I'm linked to Force India".

 

Before accelerating again:

 

"Driving a Ferrari is everyone's dream, but if they called me I'd have to think about it".

 

In the front row at the Belgian Grand Prix there will be another Italian, Jarno Trulli, who is also among the candidates for the place that Luca Badoer will vacate on Sunday evening. And in two weeks the Italian Grand Prix will take place. Lots of coincidences. Even too many. Someone maliciously insinuates that the three fastest are a team in debt (Force India), one that has to convince its board that Formula 1 is a bargain (Toyota) and one for sale (BMW, third with Nick Heidfeld). All three were going very slowly up until a week earlier, all three on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit exploited the Bridgestone tires (by regulation the same for all) in a surprisingly effective way. Suspects. Or maybe just envy. Giancarlo Fisichella and Jarno Trulli had already started together from the front row in Australia 2005. They are the Italy of engines, 36 years each, 35 the other, their careers about to end, the doors closing one by one and now, unexpectedly, the possibility of crowning a dream, even if it were only for five races and that's it. For Giancarlo Fisichella it is easier: easier to free himself, first of all, because Force India has 4.000.000 debts with Ferrari for breaking the engine supply contract in advance. It is therefore easier to be satisfied, because he still risks being left out at the end of the season and it is better to be unemployed but as a former Ferrari driver, who may be missing out on a test driver contract. Jarno Trulli, on the other hand, would have to bring two competing sponsors (large oil companies) to an agreement and break a promise: worried about the future, the Toyota F1 employees begged him to stay and he replied in the affirmative. In Giancarlo Fisichella's curriculum there are three victories: the first, in Brazil in 2003 with Jordan, was recognized the following week; the other two came in 2005 and 2006 with Renault at the expense of Fernando Alonso, who would later become World Champion. Nothing followed: another season with a Renault in vertical collapse of performance, then the adventure in Force India, a year and a half without ever scoring a point. Then, the light of a pole position that he defines as incredible. In 2004 he had come close to Ferrari: a test driver position was ready, but a conflict between sponsors blocked the operation. Vijay Mallya, the boss of Force India, ignores it:

 

"Me in debt? It is absolutely not true, business is good. Give Fisichella to Ferrari? And why? He didn't tell me about it or his manager or anyone else. Giancarlo is very attached to the team and shares their passion".

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Everyone believes him. The call is expected on Tuesday 1 September 2009, when news on Felipe Massa's recovery will arrive from America and Ferrari will have the elements to plan for the future. And, meanwhile, Giancarlo Fisichella says:

 

"It's true, I dream of a call, but let me think about this Grand Prix. I'm tired of finishing fifteenth".

 

And speaking of current events, at the end of qualifying, Kimi Raikkonen said:

 

"Given the situation, it will be an open race".

 

If we consider the starting positions and the quantities of petrol loaded by the first cars on the grid, the Finn will have to be especially careful with Rubens Barrichello. The main task of the Ferrari driver will be to carry out some overtaking at the start, thanks to the help of Kers. Should he succeed, Kimi could also aim for victory, because on the Belgian circuit he has always shown, with three victories to his credit, that he is very fast. He also has the advantage that Sebastian Vettel, Mark Webber, Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button are in the rear. But ahead are Giancarlo Fisichella, Jarno Trulli, Nick Heidfeld, Rubens Barrichello and Robert Kubica. In short, all riders are very fast, everything should go well to achieve the goal of victory. Sunday 30 August 2009, at the start of the Belgian Grand Prix, Rubens Barrichello's Brawn GP stands still, while Kimi Räikkönen with a great sprint positions himself behind Giancarlo Fisichella and Robert Kubica, to then pass the Pole on the Kemmel line. Jarno Trulli, touched by Nick Heidfeld at the Source exit, was forced to return to the pits to replace the front wing. At the Les Combes chicane Romain Grosjean hits the car of the leader of the World Championship, Jenson Button, triggering a carom that also involves the World Champion Lewis Hamilton, and Jaime Algersuari; the four are forced to retire. The safety car enters to allow the cleaning of the track. In addition to Jarno Trulli, Rubens Barrichello and Adrian Sutil also made a stop. Behind the safety car, the order sees Giancarlo Fisichella in first position, followed by Kimi Raikkonen, Robert Kubica, Timo Glock, Mark Webber, Nick Heidfeld, Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel. At the restart, Kimi Räikkönen took advantage of Kers and passed Giancarlo Fisichella again at Kemmel; identical maneuver succeeds Sebastian Vettel, to the detriment of Nico Rosberg. Robert Kubica opens the first series of stops on lap 11, followed by Timo Glock who loses a lot of time. Ferrari and Force India copied each other, bringing the two leading drivers back at the same time on lap 13. But Kimi Raikkonen managed to hold onto the lead. 

 

In pit traffic, Mark Webber takes a drive through for an unsafe release against Nick Heidfeld; the German still managed to pass on lap 14 with a great overtaking on the outside at Le Combes, before the Australian returned to the pits to serve the penalty. Meanwhile Sebastian Vettel set the fastest lap, before pitting on lap 16, virtually moving up to fourth. In fact, some drivers aim to make only one stop; on the twentieth lap behind the first two, there is therefore Fernando Alonso, followed by Robert Kubica, Heikki Kovalainen, Sebastien Buemi, Sebastian Vettel and Nick Heidfeld. During lap 24, the Spanish driver's pit stop extended for a good 35 seconds, due to a problem with the left front tire damaged in a contact at the first corner of the race. Due to the time lost and fearing a repeat of what happened in Hungary, the team opted for a precautionary withdrawal. Subsequently, on lap 29, Robert Kubica returned to the pits to make his second stop, followed, one lap later, by Kimi Raikkonen and Giancarlo Fisichella, separated by a second. The positions did not change while Sebastian Vettel, constantly the fastest on the track, moved up to third place after his pit stop during lap 35. Two laps from the end, white smoke began to emerge from the Mercedes engine of Rubens Barrichello's Brawn GP. The Brazilian driver, author of a regular race with a single stop, after the initial one, on lap 27, still managed to reach the finish line, finishing in seventh place and recovering two points on his teammate, Jenson Button. Otherwise, Mark Webber concludes ninth failing to take advantage of the withdrawal of the British driver. 

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Kimi Raikkonen wins the Belgian Grand Prix. The Finnish driver precedes Giancarlo Fisichella, Sebastian Vettel, Robert Kubica, Nick Heidfeld, Heikki Kovalainen, Rubens Barrichello and Nico Rosberg. Jenson Button made his first retirement at Spa on Sunday afternoon, after five victories and eleven races, always in the points. It was rookie Romain Grosjean who knocked out the leader of the World Championship standings, hitting his car on the opening lap at the Les Combes chicane. The accident also damaged Lewis Hamilton, who had to brake, and another youngster, the Spaniard Jaime Alguersuari, threw him off the track. Two Englishmen eliminated after a few hundred metres. In the championship though, Jenson Button hasn't lost much of his lead. The Briton still has a 16-point margin over Rubens Barrichello, who only finished seventh with the engine smoking like a two-stroke diesel. A good step forward for Sebastian Vettel, third in the race and in the standings, while the other challenger, Mark Webber, did not score any points. With five races still to go the situation is still in favor of Jenson Button. In the Lamentation of the Constructors' Championship, meanwhile, Ferrari consolidates its third place behind Brawn GP and Red Bull Racing, bringing the gap on McLaren to 12 points. Kimi Raikkonen has been on the podium for three Grands Prix:

 

"But when you win, the taste of champagne is better".

 

Ferrari is there, smart, competitive, fast. And finally it is also a winner, despite having abandoned all development for a month and is dedicating itself completely to the 2010 project. The result of the 2009 Belgian Grand Prix keeps alive a tradition that began in 1994: even in the worst years, a Maranello car is always found first at the finish line. Luck fell to the Finn, who rediscovers the class of champion just when they call him a pensioner and the weight of the team is all on his shoulders, because Felipe Massa is recovering and Luca Badoer a lost bet. There were signs and clues, above all the words of the driver who, after Friday's free practice, had said to the mechanics for the first time this year, speaking of the single-seater:

 

"It is OK".

 

No other words were needed to understand that the enterprise was finally at hand after disappointments, bitterness, controversies and dramas. Trying to interpret the 2009 F1 isn't difficult: it's useless. Force India, zero points in two years, on the most classic of circuits turns into a very fast princess in the hands of a Giancarlo Fisichella who seems to say to Ferrari at every corner:

 

"Take me, look how good I am".

 

And the Maranello team itself, which has given up on growing because the season is now compromised, suddenly finds performance and synchronism again. The insiders do not understand anything, let alone the public. Flavio Briatore casts suspicion on the tyres, which should be the same for everyone, while Stefano Domenicali asks his engineers to analyze fuel consumption. From an initial assessment, under the safety car, Kimi Raikkonen would have used more fuel to keep the tires and brakes warm with continuous acceleration: a strategy that allowed him to overtake Giancarlo Fisichella just after the Eau Rouge corner. The Kers also plays its part, the notorious device that accumulates energy under braking and returns it on the following lap, but makes balancing a single-seater problematic. However, Kimi Raikkonen says:

 

"It makes no sense to wonder if I finished first thanks to KERS. I've always had it, but I only won here".

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And it's already the fourth time, like Jim Clark: only Senna (5) and Schumacher (6) have done better than him on what is defined as the most beautiful circuit in Formula 1. More data on Kimi: he hadn't won since the 2008 Spanish Grand Prix, which had been his 17th success.

 

"We dedicate the victory to President Montezemolo for his birthday".

 

Says the Ferrari team principal, Stefano Domenicali. From Italy, the president called, thanked the team and congratulated Kimi Raikkonen. From Miami, where he will undergo a neurological examination during the day, Felipe Massa attends the party. For Ferrari it is the best way to present itself to the Italian public, at Monza, where another driver will make his debut in place of Badoer. Kimi Raikkonen says:

 

"I don't care who will drive the second car, I don't choose".

 

The decision will be made by Thursday 3 September 2009. In the meantime it is legitimate to celebrate. Ferrari does so with a touch of bitterness after discovering that the 2008 World Championship may have been tainted by serious impropriety. Indeed, the FIA is opening an investigation into last year's Singapore Grand Prix, and in particular into the accident involving Nelson Piquet Jr., which activated the safety car and in fact handed victory to his teammate, Fernando Alonso. In the confusion of those moments (almost all the single-seaters returned to the pits and the pit lane was crowded like the motorways yesterday) Ferrari missed the refueling of Felipe Massa, who was leading the race. The Brazilian driver restarted with the petrol cap attached, with an effect between drama and surreal comedy, and lost a comfortable placement which, at the end of the season, would have guaranteed him the title. The FIA's suspicion is that Nelson Piquet Jr. received the order to cause the accident. It would have been revealed by Nelson Piquet, enraged with Flavio Briatore due to the dismissal of his son. If the facts were ascertained, Renault would end up before the World Council and risk disqualification or radiation, while the young Brazilian driver would never set foot on a circuit again. As an extreme consequence, the FIA could cancel the result of the race, thus handing the World Championship to Felipe Massa. Meanwhile, not even the best thriller author and Formula 1 enthusiast could imagine a story as intricate and suspenseful as the one involving the Ferrari drivers. Complicated, difficult to interpret and understand. Because there are too many variations in play. The first tile to put in place concerns Felipe Massa. On Monday evening, in Maranello, we will have a more precise idea of the exact diagnosis and recovery times of the driver who was seriously injured in Hungary. The results of a series of in-depth tests are awaited, a real consultation by American specialists, to which the Brazilian will be subjected in Miami and who will ascertain his real conditions. Once the answer is known, Ferrari will make decisions. At stake are not only the possible replacement of Luca Badoer in the next race at Monza, but also the set-up for next year. Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali says:

 

"The communication on our intentions for the Italian Grand Prix will be made between Wednesday and Thursday, evaluating the information received".

 

There has been a lot of discussion in the paddock these days about the choice that will be implemented by Ferrari. Someone has even hypothesized an immediate use of Fernando Alonso. But Domenicali's answer is dry, with no possibility of reply:

 

"Absolutely not".

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And Flavio Briatore also denies it, defining the possibility of releasing the Spaniard before the end of the season as impossible. But in F1 you can also attempt impossible feats. Certainly an attempt to have the current Renault driver in advance was made, but would have been rejected by Carlos Ghosn, president of Renault. Unless the story of Singapore, which animates the news with the investigation into the behavior of the French team, does not cause twists and turns, the engagement of Fernando Alonso for the Italian Grand Prix will not take place. In the Force India headquarters they say that Giancarlo Fisichella is already with Ferrari. Then they deny. The smallest F1 team suddenly found popularity and performance thanks to the podium conquered in Spa, but in terms of communication it remains sketchy. The news comes from sales manager Ian Phillips, the denial is entrusted to the boss, Vijay Mallya, probably the most jeweled man in the world (300.000 euros in diamonds including earrings and rings). One claims that there are no problems in letting Giancarlo Fisichella go, the other shuts him up:

 

"He is not authorized to speak, his considerations of him must be ignored".

 

The other protagonists are niche: the driver claims he has not received any calls and is already happy for a second place which extends his career, while Ferrari awaits news from Miami, where Felipe Massa will be visited on Monday evening by the neurologist Steve Olvey. The Maranello team's strategy depends on the outcome: quick recovery means a temporary solution (one at the end of his career like Giancarlo Fisichella, or an unemployed man like Sebastien Bourdais, who used the Ferrari engines of Scuderia Toro Rosso up until two months ago). If, on the other hand, times were long, a good driver would also be needed for 2010. Few are having any illusions about a return of Felipe Massa by the end of the season: the Brazilian, who is currently in complete rest, needs to be operated on again for the application of a titanium plate on his forehead. Fisichella is the apparently most logical and practicable solution. In the opinion of Force India team principal Andy Stevenson:

 

"At Monza, Vitantonio Liuzzi could make his debut in one of our single-seaters".

 

From Maranello they reiterate that the decision will be made by Thursday. And in the meantime, a joke runs:

 

"We will take Piquet, but only in Singapore".

 

With reference to the accident in which the Brazilian was the protagonist last year and on which the FIA has opened an investigation. Meanwhile, Luca Montezemolo's birthday is being celebrated. Which tells the team about him:

 

"I have to thank you three times for Kimi Raikkonen's victory in Belgium, for what you did and for what you will do".

 

And poor Luca Badoer? If Ferrari needed time to find a replacement, in two weeks at Monza it would still be his turn. It's difficult, but not entirely out of the question. The population of fans has mobilized on the web, divided between those who invite him to leave, those who defend him out of gratitude, those who accuse Ferrari of having chosen badly.


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