It’s off-season time – the time that I dread the most as a Formula 1 lover. I wonder what will give me my fortnightly fix of motorsport during the winter, and the answer almost every year is – NOTHING! While there is NO Formula 1 action permitted by the regulations, there are plenty of stories that one gets time to talk about in the off-season.

In 2011, on the technical front, the Adjustable Rear Wing (ARW) or the Drag Reduction System (DRS) wing will be most discussed during the off-season, as will the performance of Team Lotus, which has seen considerable improvement in the last few races of the season. The other hot topic of discussion will be regarding the performance, or lack thereof, of Mark Webber and Felipe Massa.

If you’ve followed the 2011 season, you pretty much know why. However, here’s a closer look at the numbers up until the 2011 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Mark Webber had scored 233 points this season, and was lying 4th in the Driver’s World Championship, behind Sabastian Vettel, Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso. Webber had scored 9 podiums out of the 18 races this season, and his worst race finish was 5th, which was in Australia and Hungary. That said, Webber did have the distinction of scoring the maximum number of fastest laps for any driver in a full season – six.

Not a bad season’s performance to add to one’s CV? Maybe so, but not if you’re Mark Webber – the man who was in contention for last year’s Driver’s World Championship till the last race of the season. And certainly not if your teammate, Sebastian Vettel, had scored 374 points along with 11 wins, while you had been able to score none! And all this in the RB7, which had arrived as the ‘fastest car on-track’ at virtually every Grand Prix of the season. I know this sounds a bit harsh, but, by Webber’s standards, 2011 was surely not a good season for him! Webber has renewed for 2012 with Red Bull Racing however, but that, I believe, is more to do with lack of options elsewhere for the Australian.

And the reasons for Webber’s relatively lackluster performance? Well, some say that Webber has taken time to alter his driving style to the new Pirelli tyres, but I would say that a whole season to get accustomed to the new rubber is a little too much for an F1 driver of any standard. The other reason is, of course, a conspiracy theory where Webber is not being treated equally in the garage – leading to lack of performance on-track. Well, if anything, I think we did see this last year in Silverstone – but that’s about it.

Moving on, the other driver, Felipe Massa, will stir a bigger debate – more so because he is a Ferrari driver. While Webber’s stats do read well, Massa’s would indicate that he was driving for a midfield team, and not for Ferrari. The Brazilian driver, who almost won the Driver’s World Championship in 2008, has failed to score a single victory or podium this season. This possibly makes him the only driver in the history of Ferrari to have not stepped onto the podium for a full season. Massa has scored 108 points, less than half of his double World Champion teammate Fernando Alonso. Massa’s best performance has been a lackluster 5th, and he missed finishing in a season’s best 4th place at Abu Dhabi by spinning mid-race (only to have Webber overtake him in the round of pit stops).

Such has been the frustration with Massa’s performance that there are rumours in the paddock which suggest that Ferrari might replace him ahead of his contract – and that could mean that the 2011 Brazilian GP could well be his last race for Ferrari. One could argue that the Ferrari 150 Italia hasn’t been the fastest car on track, and has more often than not been beaten by a McLaren or Red Bull. However, this is the same car with which Alonso managed to score a victory (in Silverstone) and notch up 245 points, along with 7 podium finishes – placing him 3rd in the Driver’s World Championship.

And the reasons for Massa’s performance? Well, it’s publicly (and globally) known that Massa is the designated no. 2 driver in the Ferrari garage – and, after spending 6 years with the Italian marque, the no. 2 status has probably made a psychological dent. Also, after Massa’s crash in the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix, many believe that Massa has lost his edge as a racer.

However, one commonality between both these fantastic racers is their treatment as no. 2 in their respective garages. A famous racing team advertises that ‘Racing is a state of mind,’ and Webber and Massa’s treatment is probably a good example of their affects of such a tagline.

So, what next for these two? The 2012 season will be a make-or-break for them. Webber, who will turn 36 next season, is possibly in his last season (or two) in the sport. There were hints in the Paddock that Webber’s contract extension for 2012 was a ‘Thank You’ from Red Bull Racing, and he will possibly retire after next season – making way for one of Red Bull’s young guns, which could include Daniel Ricciardo or one of the Toro Rosso drivers.

Massa, who will turn 31 next year, still has a couple of years of racing left in him, and he could well be on his way to a high paying midfield team before retiring from the sport. Sauber’s Sergio Perez, who is also a part of Ferrari’s Driver Academy, is touted to be his replacement in Ferrari from the 2013 season.

And, coming back to where we started – if you’re in India, and are a motorsport fan, the i1 Super Series could well be your motorsport fix this off-season. Are you going to tune in?