Formula One: Does Ferrari Need a Driver Change?

The 2008 season opened in one of the worst ways possible for Ferrari. Kimi Raikkonen made two driving errors: one an overzealous pass attempt and the other an off-road spin with a tire off the road and the sun in his eyes. Felipe Massa ran poorly, and plowed his car into David Couthard's side on another ambitious move. Both did not finish. However, the men in red bounced back for the next race with Kimi Raikkonen winning the Sepang contest. Felipe Massa captured pole position, but then spun out on lap 31 and did not finish.

With the first two events now far behind Ferrari, there is little dispute that they are currently favored to win the constructor's and driver's championship. Both drivers have won two races and were it not for a brilliant drive by Lewis Hamilton in Istanbul, Ferrari would have recorded three straight one-two finishes. 

Yet speculation remains about the future of both Ferrari drivers. With a world championship under his belt, a championship lead, and as the only driver to score a point in every race so far this season, Kimi Raikkonen's job looks safe. 

Furthermore, Kimi has only been out driven by his teammate twice this year. He even managed to make the Sakhir victory more than academic for Massa despite his ear infection at the time. Kimi Raikkonen is showing himself to be one of the most talented drivers in F1 at the moment, if not the man on top of the heap.

Some think Felipe Massa is on the Ferrari cutting block, having put up weaker results thus far this year. To make the case that Massa should go, one must consider who could replace him and if there is a need to. Let us consider the candidates.

Fernando Alonso

Alonso is the only active champion other than Kimi Raikkonen, and he is currently in midfield equipment. He is very hungry.

The problem with Alonso isn't that the phrase "former world champion" is often mentioned in the same breath as his name, but rather his self-centered attitude.  Alonso has only once been paired with a driver who could challenge him, and he and Hamilton are not the best of friends at the moment. With two championships and generally lackluster teammates, Alonso is bound to look like a star and to rate himself as such. From his alleged actions to "blackmail" Ron Dennis if he would get better equipment than Hamilton to his complaints about the FIA trying to win Schumacher another world championship in 2006, his character often speaks for itself. Ferrari has no need to damage team chemistry by hiring Fernando Alonso while it still has Kimi on the payroll.

Lewis Hamilton

Hamilton is a rising young talent, a hard worker, and is focused on the task at hand. He is still making rookie mistakes, but he has great potential.

The issue is, of course, that Hamilton has repeatedly signed contracts with McLaren, and is likely going to be a McLaren driver into his sixties at the rate he is signing papers. Ferrari has every reason to desire him, but he just isn't on the table.

Robert Kubica

Kubica is more experienced than Hamilton, and like the McLaren driver, he is more than capable of matching or beating an experienced teammate. His career is less stellar than Hamilton’s, but so is his equipment.

Kubica is more available than Hamilton, appears to be better mannered than Alonso, and might be just as quick as both. If Ferrari wants to replace Massa, he is the guy.

However, Felipe Massa still has a few advantages. Massa is more experienced and has shown to be Schumacher and Raikkonen's match often enough to not discredit his talent. I for one am not sure that Kubica offers enough.

Heikki Kovalainen and Nico Rosberg

The second McLaren driver showed promise to match Hamilton before his big crash. Nico Rosberg is the clearly talented son of a former world champ. I do not suspect Ferrari of talking to either of them at the moment, but Ferrari will be watching. If Kovalainen gets back to matching Hamilton or if Rosberg keeps beating his teammates, either could appear in red in the not so distant future.

It just doesn't look like anyone can replace Massa at what he does at the moment. Felipe cooperated when only Kimi could win the championship last year, and he gets along well with the team. He is not much slower than Kimi, and is good enough to challenge Kimi. 

Two talented, relatively evenly matched drivers push each other, and as long as they get along on track, Ferrari will continue to see success for some time to come.