Felipe Massa says he is far from happy with his season so far, but believes that recent improvements to the Ferrari will help him move up the grid.
The Brazilian began the year brightly with podium finishes in Bahrain and Australia and briefly held the championship lead.
However since then he has finished in the top six only twice and has slipped to eighth in the world championship - over 30 points behind his team-mate Fernando Alonso.
"For sure I'm not happy," said Massa. "The beginning of the season was not like I expected. The first two races were okay, we did two podiums, and then we didn't have good races, especially in the last three.
"When you have three races in a row where something happens in the race and you cannot score points, and you go from being in a good position to suddenly last because something has happened, these things are not nice.
"It was the case in Canada because of the accident at the first corner, and in Valencia because of the safety car, and at Silverstone because I had a tyre issue and went from fifth to completely last."
Massa believes that recent exhaust upgrades to the Ferrari have already helped the team close in on the pace setting Red Bulls and McLarens.
"I would say in the last two races, we brought some new parts on the car which I think was a good improvement," he added.
"Compared to the previous races I think we made a step forward and we had a competitive car. I think it is important to keep your motivation that the car is growing [in pace], and hope that for the next race we have an even better car.
"I think it gives even more motivation to keep pushing and looking for a good result in the next race."
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Showing posts with label Felipe Massa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Felipe Massa. Show all posts
Thursday, 22 July 2010
Thursday, 8 July 2010
Massa: Silverstone key test for Ferrari
Felipe Massa believes that Ferrari's performance in comparison to that of its rivals at Silverstone will provide a clear barometer of the progress it has made with the development of its F10 in recent races.
The Brazilian, who has not finished on the podium since the Australian Grand Prix in March, remains confident of Ferrari's potential ahead of the British race, adding that for various reasons he and his team-mate Fernando Alonso have not made the most of the F10 in Canada and Valencia.
"I hope we make another good step forward this weekend, with the new updates we are bringing to England, because we saw in Valencia and even in Canada, that the F10 is progressing in terms of competitiveness, even if for various reasons, that did not translate into good race results," he said in his diary column on the Ferrari website.
"In fact, this weekend should provide a very clear test of how much we have improved, both in pure performance and in terms of where we stand against the teams currently ahead of us.
"Of the tracks we have raced at so far this year, Silverstone is most similar to Istanbul, where we had an uncompetitive weekend, so if the F10 works well here, we will know we are on the right road."
Massa added that it is critical for Ferrari to compile good results in the apex of the season - with three grands prix taking place during July - if it is to remain in the hunt for both championships against Red Bull and McLaren.
"Even if we have a good British GP weekend, we cannot afford to relax for a moment, because we know we are a bit behind in the championship and we are at the halfway point of the season," said Massa. "In addition, from Silverstone to Budapest, we now have to tackle three grands prix in four weeks, with further developments coming immediately for Hockenheim and the Hungaroring.
"Which means these three races will be very important and we will be pushing very hard to try and get ahead of our competitors.
"But before then we have Silverstone, which is a circuit I have always liked, even if we will have to see what it feels like now with the changes," he added.
"I watched the MotoGP race there on television a few weeks ago and my impression is that the new track layout is very different to the old one with some of the new 'slow' corners even slower than before.
"We will have to learn the handful of new corners on Friday, to judge if we need to make significant changes to the type of set-up we have run here in other years, although much of the data we have from the past will still be relevant as several sections are much the same as before."
The Brazilian, who has not finished on the podium since the Australian Grand Prix in March, remains confident of Ferrari's potential ahead of the British race, adding that for various reasons he and his team-mate Fernando Alonso have not made the most of the F10 in Canada and Valencia.
"I hope we make another good step forward this weekend, with the new updates we are bringing to England, because we saw in Valencia and even in Canada, that the F10 is progressing in terms of competitiveness, even if for various reasons, that did not translate into good race results," he said in his diary column on the Ferrari website.
"In fact, this weekend should provide a very clear test of how much we have improved, both in pure performance and in terms of where we stand against the teams currently ahead of us.
"Of the tracks we have raced at so far this year, Silverstone is most similar to Istanbul, where we had an uncompetitive weekend, so if the F10 works well here, we will know we are on the right road."
Massa added that it is critical for Ferrari to compile good results in the apex of the season - with three grands prix taking place during July - if it is to remain in the hunt for both championships against Red Bull and McLaren.
"Even if we have a good British GP weekend, we cannot afford to relax for a moment, because we know we are a bit behind in the championship and we are at the halfway point of the season," said Massa. "In addition, from Silverstone to Budapest, we now have to tackle three grands prix in four weeks, with further developments coming immediately for Hockenheim and the Hungaroring.
"Which means these three races will be very important and we will be pushing very hard to try and get ahead of our competitors.
"But before then we have Silverstone, which is a circuit I have always liked, even if we will have to see what it feels like now with the changes," he added.
"I watched the MotoGP race there on television a few weeks ago and my impression is that the new track layout is very different to the old one with some of the new 'slow' corners even slower than before.
"We will have to learn the handful of new corners on Friday, to judge if we need to make significant changes to the type of set-up we have run here in other years, although much of the data we have from the past will still be relevant as several sections are much the same as before."
Friday, 14 May 2010
Massa pins hopes on softer tyres
Felipe Massa is hoping the softer tyres available to teams in Monaco this weekend will help him rediscover his confidence in the cockpit.
The Brazilian has confessed to struggling with the harder tyres that have been used since the Bahrain Grand Prix - and reckons that is why he has been unable to match the pace of team-mate Fernando Alonso.
But with Bridgestone making the super soft and medium tyres – the same choice as in Bahrain - available to teams in Monaco this weekend, Massa is hoping for an improved performance.
"Last weekend wasn't really great for me, especially in qualifying," said Massa in Monaco. "Red Bull was ahead of all the other teams, and I was struggling a lot on the tyres.
"In the race, starting ninth and finishing sixth was not so bad to be honest. We did a good start but then the race was quite boring - stuck behind Jenson, with it difficult to overtake, and struggling a lot with the grip level. I had no grip and couldn't try anything so it was not a very nice race.
"But we hope to do a better job this weekend. We have different tyres which on our car were working quite well in Bahrain, and we hope we can do a better job."
The Brazilian has confessed to struggling with the harder tyres that have been used since the Bahrain Grand Prix - and reckons that is why he has been unable to match the pace of team-mate Fernando Alonso.
But with Bridgestone making the super soft and medium tyres – the same choice as in Bahrain - available to teams in Monaco this weekend, Massa is hoping for an improved performance.
"Last weekend wasn't really great for me, especially in qualifying," said Massa in Monaco. "Red Bull was ahead of all the other teams, and I was struggling a lot on the tyres.
"In the race, starting ninth and finishing sixth was not so bad to be honest. We did a good start but then the race was quite boring - stuck behind Jenson, with it difficult to overtake, and struggling a lot with the grip level. I had no grip and couldn't try anything so it was not a very nice race.
"But we hope to do a better job this weekend. We have different tyres which on our car were working quite well in Bahrain, and we hope we can do a better job."
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