Breaking news

Formula 1

Massa to be 'strong rival' in 2014 - Alonso

Alonso thinks that Massa will be a strong rival this coming season.

GMM

Edited: Mar 4, 2014, 9:13 AM

Copy link

Share on Facebook

Share on Twitter

Share on WhatsApp

Share on Linkedin

Share on Pinterest

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

(L to R): Fernando Alonso, Ferrari with team mate Felipe Massa, Ferrari

Mar.4 (GMM) Fernando Alonso has tipped his departed Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa to be a "strong rival" in 2014.

After eight years in red, Brazilian Massa's move to the once-great British team Williams was seen as a clearly backwards step for the 11-time Grand Prix winner.

But after pre-season testing, Mercedes-powered Williams has emerged as one of the strongest forces for 2014, with Massa tipped as an outside chance for outright victory in Melbourne.

"I've talked with Felipe several times this year already," Spaniard Alonso is quoted by Brazil's Globo.

"He is happy, Williams has so much history in Formula One and is not just any team, and they have had a very strong pre-season," he admitted.

"It is very positive because now they can be fighting. Felipe will definitely be a strong rival this year," added Alonso.

Alonso also played down the constant suggestions that both he and Ferrari will struggle to cope with his rivalry with Massa's 2014 replacement, fellow champion Kimi Raikkonen.

"We are trying to work together, working for Ferrari and arriving in Australia to fight for the race," Alonso said.

"So let's have this internal competition - normal in every team - because we all want to be ahead of the other one, and hopefully this can help Ferrari," he added.

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Read also :

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Facebook

Share on Twitter

Share on WhatsApp

Share on Linkedin

Share on Pinterest

Share on Viber

Previous article Bottas plays down 2014 'fuel saving' fears

Next article Haas hopes for 2015 F1 entry decision soon

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

More from

GMM



The season is still very long - Rosberg

Formula 1

Formula 1

The season is still very long - Rosberg



Jules Bianchi's father speaks of family's continued hopes

Formula 1

Formula 1

Jules Bianchi's father speaks of family's continued hopes



Sauber under no illusions about constructors' position

Formula 1

Formula 1

Chinese GP

Sauber under no illusions about constructors' position

More from

Felipe Massa



On this day: Michael Schumacher wins… and stuns tifosi with F1 retirement

Formula 1

Formula 1

Italian GP

On this day: Michael Schumacher wins… and stuns tifosi with F1 retirement



Defendant ordered to pay £250,000 legal fees in Felipe Massa F1 title case

Formula 1

Formula 1

Defendant ordered to pay £250,000 legal fees in Felipe Massa F1 title case



Felipe Massa’s F1 2008 lawsuit will proceed to trial

Formula 1

Formula 1

Las Vegas GP

Felipe Massa’s F1 2008 lawsuit will proceed to trial

More from

Ferrari



Ferrari promotes F2 racer to F1 reserve driver role

Formula 1

Formula 1

Singapore GP

Ferrari promotes F2 racer to F1 reserve driver role



Employing team orders can simply be a matter of common sense

Formula 1

Employing team orders can simply be a matter of common sense



The six drivers doing double duty in Portimao GTWCE and Barcelona WEC this weekend

WEC

WEC

Barcelona

The six drivers doing double duty in Portimao GTWCE and Barcelona WEC this weekend

Latest news



Jesse Love barely holds off Sam Mayer for NASCAR O'Reilly win at Phoenix

NASCAR O'Reilly

NOAP NASCAR O'Reilly

Phoenix II

41 min

Jesse Love barely holds off Sam Mayer for NASCAR O'Reilly win at Phoenix



Lando Norris faces anxious wait as F2 prepares to decide future of his racing team

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

Singapore GP

3 h

Lando Norris faces anxious wait as F2 prepares to decide future of his racing team



NASCAR Cup Phoenix starting lineup: Blaney earns pole as Larson struggles

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup

Phoenix II

4 h

NASCAR Cup Phoenix starting lineup: Blaney earns pole as Larson struggles



Ryan Blaney kind of faces a must-win scenario this weekend at Phoenix

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup

Phoenix II

5 h

Ryan Blaney kind of faces a must-win scenario this weekend at Phoenix

Feature

Discover prime content



Lights, Camara, action: How Haas picked F1's latest rookie for 2027

Formula 1

Singapore GP

By Jake Boxall-Legge

Lights, Camara, action: How Haas picked F1's latest rookie for 2027



Employing team orders can simply be a matter of common sense

Formula 1

By Kevin Turner

Employing team orders can simply be a matter of common sense



Why Christian Horner sees history repeating itself for Adrian Newey at Aston Martin

Formula 1

Singapore GP

By Ronald Vording

Why Christian Horner sees history repeating itself for Adrian Newey at Aston Martin



Laurent Mekies under the microscope: How different is his leadership at Red Bull from Christian Horner?

Formula 1

Singapore GP

By Ronald Vording

Laurent Mekies under the microscope: How different is his leadership at Red Bull from Christian Horner?

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts

Subscribe