Massa Better Than Kimi – Piquet

Nelson Piquet believes that Felipe Massa will outclass Kimi Raikkonen during 2007.

“Before the start of the championship I didn’t know what the difference in speed was going to be between Massa and Raikkonen,” Piquet told Autosprint magazine.

“Now I have no doubt: despite being behind in the points, Felipe Massa is the favourite for a very logical reason.

“It’s simply that Massa is always faster in qualifying than Raikkonen, and nowadays GPs are won at the first corner. The tyres are the same, you don’t have a day when the Michelins are better anymore, cars don’t break down, and overtaking is almost impossible.

“So, when does a driver build a win by doing 90% of the job? It’s at the start and at the first corner. With Massa more efficient in qualifying, I don’t see how Raikkonen can beat him. If Ferrari maintains the current technical advantage, obviously the fight will be between Massa and Raikkonen.

“The GPs and the championship will be won on Saturdays and Raikkonen at the moment has shown to be unable to reach Massa’s levels of speed. It looks to me like a rather simple situation,” the three-time champion added.

 Nelson Piquet