Hamilton beat Massa to the title by just one point this season after a thrilling climax to the campaign at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
But speaking at Ferrari's Christmas party, di Montezemolo believes that Ferrari and Massa make the perfect combination.
"Lewis Hamilton? Let's make this clear: he's a great driver, able to get within a whisker of the title in his first year in F1 and winning it on his second," di Montezemolo was quoted as saying by Gazzetta dello Sport. "However, with all due respect, I wouldn't change him with Felipe Massa."
When asked to respond to claims by Hamilton that he has no interest in driving for Ferrari as he wants to stay at McLaren for his whole career, di Montezemolo said: "Usually it's Ferrari doing the choosing. I'm convinced that it's Ferrari making a driver popular.
"Kimi Raikkonen came to Ferrari and won the title. If Massa didn't win it this year it's our fault. It would have been normal for him to win it, but he didn't because of our errors.
"Felipe is extremely popular, for the man he is, for the great driver he's demonstrated to be, and for the beautiful way he lost this championship."
No comments:
Post a Comment