Is There Still a Defense for Felipe?

Twelve races into the twenty round 2012 F1 season, I’m wondering if there is still a defense for keeping Felipe Massa in a Ferrari cockpit for one more season. The Brazilian currently sits 11th in the Driver’s standings with 35 points, while teammate Alonso leads the championship on 164. With a very poor start to the season, Massa has now had a run of six points scoring finishes from the last nine races, the best result being a 4th, but even then, his average placing is 7th.

With no less than six former World Champions ahead of him, it might be understandable for Felipe to not be right at the sharp end of the points, but he also sits behind the likes of Mark Webber, Romain Grosjean, Sergio Perez and Nico Rosberg. Massa’s eleven career victories are more than those driver’s combined ten, with two of those pilots yet to even score their maiden win. Are they all simply better drivers than Massa is now? Is the Sauber a better car than the Ferrari?

It has now been 22 races since Felipe’s last podium (Korea ’10) and 57 since his last win (Brazil ’08). Is that good enough to stay with the winningest team in the sport’s history? With quite possibly the strongest field in F1 history, Massa may not in fact be able to win this season, but is he doing enough to support the team?

Even with Alonso leading the title hunt, Ferrari currently sit 4th in the Constructor’s standings. Were the season to end as things lay now, you would have to go back THREE decades before finding another title winning driver whose team finished so far down in the Constructor’s standings. However, when Keke Rosberg won that 1982 World Driver’s Championship, he had no less than three teammates at 4th place finishing Williams; Carlos Reutemann, Mario Andretti and F1B’s very own Derek Daly. Between them, those three drivers finished ten races in the Top 10 (which would score with today’s points system) with two podiums between them.

As mentioned in a piece before this season began, were Felipe Massa to go through the entirety of the 2012 season without a victory, he would become the longest tenured Ferrari driver (i.e. the longest streak of races) without a win. I, for one, do not want to see that occur. But even if Felipe does get that elusive victory, should it be enough to keep his seat with the prancing horse?