Kimi In, Massa Out

In the sheer space of an hour one long term driver has left Ferrari while a former champion comes home.

Felipe Massa announced tonight on Twitter that he would be leaving at the end of the year, and thanked his team and family for supporting him through 8 turbulent years.

Just Massa packs away his office supplies, the last man to win a world championship at Ferrari has came home, beating people like Nico Hulkenberg and Paul di Resta for the seat.

The BBC has announced that Kimi Raikkonen has signed a one year deal with the option for 2015. As I mentioned previously the ideal scenario for Kimi would have been Massa as a team mate, but the prospect for a Kimi Raikkonen-Fernando Alonso line up is indeed mouth watering from the outside.

Inside our wonderful world of Formula 1 though, it creates a certain fear in the mind. Who gets the number 1 spot? I can't remember a time when Ferrari even thought of an equal driver policy. It's either on or the other and if Luca di Montezemolo & Stefano Domenicali had any sense they would give Raikkonen the role of number 1 driver.

He'll be a fresh albeit returning face, but he'll create a whirlwind of excitement for the Tifosi and the Ferrari team in Italy. At the end of the day, Alonso has nil championships at Ferrari, Kimi has 1. Fernando may have two overall but any bets should be with Kimi.

It would be hard not to be sad for Massa. I've never been a huge fan of him but I've always respected him. But I guess when your time comes you'll know about it. Here is is farewell message on Instagram: 

"From 2014 i will no longer be driving for Ferrari. I would like to thank the team for all the victories and incredible moments experienced together. Thank you also to my wife and all of my family, to my fans and all my Sponsors. From each one of you I have always received a great support! Right now I want to push as hard as possible with Ferrari for the remaining 7 races. For next year, I want to find a team that can give me a competitive car to win many more races and challenge for the Championship which remains my greatest objective! Thank you all. Felipe"

The person who will probably miss him more than Fernando Alonso is poor Rob Smedly. They were like brothers and can you honestly imagine Rob talking any nonsense from Kimi over the radio?

The bottom line is, Kimi still has championship potential in him. The key factor in all of this is James Allison. He is the most important factor for 2014. The fact him and Kimi are back together again can only mean positive things. 

I am honestly so excited for next season that I do not give a damn about this season. Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel should be very, very worried. That's only if the Alonso-Raikkonen situation is managed very carefully.

Komeback Kobayashi

On a statement published on his official site, former Sauber driver Kamui Kobayashi has announced that he will join Scuderia Ferrari in the FIA owned World Endurance Championship.

Statement:

Maranello, 11 March – Kamui Kobayashi is joining the ranks of Scuderia Ferrari, which makes him the first Asian driver to play his part in the history of the Prancing Horse. The Japanese driver will take part in GT races, competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) thus strengthening the team of drivers on the Ferrari books. His first event will be the Silverstone 6 Hours on 14 April. Kamui was born in 1986 in Amagasaki and made his Formula 1 debut on 18 October 2009 for Toyota, in his home race, in Japan. Driving for Toyota and Sauber, Kobayashi took part in 60 Grands Prix. He scored a total of 125 points and his best result was a podium finish in the 2012 Japanese Grand Prix.

“I am pleased to be able to announce today my new role,” said Kobayashi. “It’s an honour for me to become part of the Ferrari family. It will be the first time that I compete in endurance races in a championship featuring GT cars. I can’t wait to start working with AF Corse and I really hope I can aim for the title, along with my team-mates. I will work hard and give my all in this new chapter in my career, knowing I can count on the support of all my fans. I would like to thank Scuderia Ferrari for this opportunity and, finally, would like to dedicate this season’s new adventure to everyone in Japan, who on this very day, commemorate the second anniversary of the devastating earthquake that hit our country.”

The photo on the website shows him shaking hands with Ferrari team boss Stefano  Domenicali, and this can only boost his chances of making an F1 comeback in the future. Hopefully this is the start of something very beautiful as he will be a sorely missed character this year, a driver of his talent should not have been forced out by the size of his bank account.

I'm very glad that I'll have a competition to watch him in. His original plan was to save up enough money to re-enter F1 in 2014, but it's not as simple as taking a year out to fund raise, he's being proactive about the situation, but he also has the sense to keep himself in the spotlight, and he could not have picked a brighter light.