Felipe Massa was in determined mood and ready for action when he met journalists at Scuderia Ferrari press conference at Wrooom. The Brazilian driver’s confidence shone through on his ability to fight back after last year’s difficult season. He was also sure that the team would be able to give him a competitive car and he believes an improved car will help him get back on to the top step of the podium.Motivation and Pressure
“After the last Grand Prix of 2011 in Brazil, I told myself that we had to be more competitive at every level and that’s exactly what we are doing. Something also needed to change on my side and now I feel mentally strong and extremely motivated. I have plenty of motivation, plenty of drive. I am positive about myself and this is what I want.”
“Sure I am always under pressure, this is true and driving for a team such as Ferrari you are always going to be under pressure, but it is better to have the pressure to fight for the championship than the pressure of having to fight to get to first place on the grid.”
“That’s a lot of years and I can claim to be a veteran. That will come in very useful in 2012. Pressure from the media? It’s to be expected when the results aren’t there, just as it weighs heavily that I have not won a race for a long time. With a well sorted car this will not happen. The design of the new car is very different to those of the past and also the fact that we should have softer compound tyres should work in favour of my driving style. All the same, we will need to have a car that works perfectly in all conditions and on all types of tyre: that’s the target the engineers have worked on all these long months spent designing the car."
New members of the team
Felipe said he was pleased to hear of the new arrivals, especially that of Bridgestone Motorsport’s former Technical Director Hirohide Hamashimi.
“He is a great engineer and he knows everything about tires, so it should be positive in general for the team and for me. I have a less aggressive style of driving and it's harder to warm up the tires and get grip right away, especially in the first lap. Pat Fry is doing a very good job: he too is very experienced and has done an excellent job on the reorganization of the team.”
Fight against Alonso
Massa believes that the development path of Ferrari's new car should suit his driving style better, and if that happens then he sees no reason why he cannot take the fight to Fernando Alonso throughout 2012.
"Yes, absolutely yes," he said when asked about his views on if he can challenge Alonso. "I am convinced that I can do it.
"On the race tracks where there was not a marked degradation of tyres, the difference was shown mostly with my driving style. So returning to having a car, as the one we had for many years, having a car that is competitive, this difference does not exist.
"I am sure that I can fight against Fernando not just to have the same time, but to make a better time than him - so to be even faster than him."
Massa on Alonso, Alonso on Massa
The relationship between the two Scuderia men seems today to be more solid than ever. Over the past few days on the slopes of the Dolomites, Felipe and Fernando have spent a lot of time together, even when not “on duty” for the media.
“Fernando and I work together towards having a quick car and for the good of the team. He is a great driver but clearly I would like to see my name always at the top of every time sheet. The gap that we have seen between us over the past two years could, in my opinion, be closed if we have a competitive car.”
“Let’s hope we are both competitive and manage to each win half the races! Felipe and I have a good relationship away from the track and we also enjoy ourselves together in our free time: our friendship is a great help even for the team, because one must be united in order to win,” replied Alonso an hour later.
The future
“I am well aware that in some ways, the start of the season, the first part of the championship is surely going to be more important for my future as opposed to the second part. But that is not anything new. So, it is going to be an extremely important year, I see this for myself but it is true for everyone here. The same goes for the whole team: I ask only to not have those difficulties in the races which often cropped up last year, preventing me from getting the results I should have done.”
“When we reach the mid-point of the season, we will talk about my future and see what are the chances of continuing to work with Ferrari: The most important thing is the results: if they are good, making decisions about the future will be much easier and there would be no point in changing a situation that everyone was happy with."
When asked if he had ever considered leaving Ferrari amid doubts about his future, Massa said: "No. First I want to get back to winning races; this is what is most important for me.”
"I want to be winning races and be as competitive as I have ever been. If you are happy in the team, then the team is happy with you. I do not see why you would change, but surely should something not happen that I mentioned previously, then it will be important that you should work where you are happy. This is what is most important so we will see what is going to happen."
Focus on the championship
Massa says that the focus for him in 2012 is not on doing enough to secure a fresh contract at Ferrari, but in producing the form from the first race that will allow him to fight for the title.
"I am thinking about the championship, so of course you must have a competitive car from the start. If you have five or six races where you don't get the results you wanted, then it is difficult to recover.
“This is a season during which we want to do more, and as far as I am concerned it is going to be extremely important because surely I want to do more than what I did last year and in 2010.”
"I want to be as competitive as possible, to win as many races as possible and fight for the championship as I have done many times in the past. I want a season which hopefully will not see me with the odds against me, as happened throughout the last season when very often I started the race and at the end I had much less points than I deserved.”
“I want to read in the papers that Felipe is back, fighting for the wins and to do that, we need everything to be right: if we have a good car then I know I can fight for the title, as I have already done in the past. Since 2008, nothing has changed: after my accident, I am still the same. Sure, it bothers me not having won for such a long time and I have a strong desire to win again: however, I am calm because I know what I am capable of and I am 100% ready to manage the pressure that has always been part of my work.”
So who is Massa's title favourite?
"I don't have a favourite," Massa said. "I want to win it."
http://www.brandonsun.com http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/96963 http://www.ferrari.com
em português
Massa admite pressão na Ferrari, mas garante: "Posso lutar com Alonso"
Massa espera ter ao menos um colega brasileiro no grid em 2012
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