What is happening there is honestly not something that surprises me,” Massa, who raced a Ferrari since he was the great Michael Schumacher’s teammate in 2006, told the Spanish sports daily AS in Singapore.

“Honestly, I hope only for good things for Ferrari.”

But, having alluded to the new era of implosion, AS nonetheless asked Massa if he would advise Alonso to jump ship and – like him – start a happier chapter elsewhere.

“No,” said Massa. “It’s different to me. If I was him I would not to go McLaren. “Mercedes, yes. Red Bull, I don’t know. He should only to a team where he can win and I think Honda and McLaren will be a good chapter but not for winning next year.”

Not only that, but Alonso quitting Ferrari after five years without adding a further title to his collection would be deemed a failure.

“Yes, maybe, you could say that, but Alonso is not stupid, he knows what to do. I think he will continue in Ferrari next year, but you know anything can always happen.”

Finally, Massa insisted he is not surprised that his successor at Ferrari, the 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen, has proved no match for Alonso in 2014.

“No,” he said clearly, “because to be close to Alonso you have to do a perfect job. You have to be perfect. It is not a surprise to me.”