08/09/2009
NEWS STORY
Forced to watch the 2009 championship unfold from the sidelines, Felipe Massa believes that Rubens Barrichello can beat Jenson Button as the Brawn driver's season appears to disintegrate.
The Brazilian, at home in Sao Paulo as he recovers from the head injury incurred during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix, believes that the pressure is getting to Button and that his veteran teammate - currently only 16 points behind - can close the gap.
Since his winning streak came to an end in Turkey, Button has scored just 11 points, subsequently crashing out on the first lap of the Belgian Grand Prix. On the other hand, during this same period Barrichello has scored 21 points including victory in Valencia.
Looking at the title fight unfold Massa points out that he was only 7 points behind Lewis Hamilton when the championship went down to the wire at Interlagos last year - a race that we all remember.
"That was one race," the Ferrari driver told the Guardian. "Rubens has five races to close 16 points. It's a big possibility but it depends on Jenson. If Jenson carries on in this bad way it will help Rubens a lot.
"In my opinion," the Brazilian continued, "Jenson has gone down because of the pressure. It's the only reason. In the earlier races, he was almost half a second quicker than some teams. You win the race easy and there is not so much pressure. But now we have races where things are more difficult. So for me the pressure has had a big impact on his mind and he needs to deal with it better. If he does not cope with the pressure he will not win the championship."
Having not factored in the Red Bull drivers Vettel and Webber, who are 19 and 20.5 points behind (respectively), it would appear that Massa is of the opinion that engine reliability will rule them out.
As he recovers from his Hungaroring crash, which at one time appeared to threaten his future in racing, Massa is philosophical.
"Everything in life has a meaning. If something bad happens it's because you need to learn, to grow," he said. "My life was once very difficult. When you think of the position I used to be in and what I had to do to arrive where I am now in my professional career. It was very difficult to reach this point. I had many races in the various categories where I knew if I did not win then I would not get to race in the next race because I did not have the money. So a lot happened that helped me become stronger.
"I think there is a reason for this accident," he added. "But at the moment I don't quite know what it is."
Ironically, the piece of debris that threatened to end his career fell from Barrichello's car, and it is incidents such as these (debris) that the Ferrari driver intends campaigning against on his return to the paddock.
In the meantime, as he watches from the sidelines, Massa admits: "For me, the worst thing that happened was not being able to race. If you can't drive that's terrible.
"My wife has already asked me, at least ten times, 'Are you sure you don't feel any doubts or worries?' Always, I say, 'No, because this is what I like to do.' If I don't drive then I am not the same person."