Massa: Ferrari has faith in me

The trophy named in memory of Lorenzo Bandini has been awarded for twenty years and is one of the most important in the field of Italian motor sport and also on the international scene. This year, on the twenty fifth anniversary of the death of Enzo Ferrari, it was an obvious choice to present the award to the son of the founder of the Maranello company, Piero. Receiving the award today on behalf of the Vice President was the Scuderia’s Sporting Director, Massimo Rivola. With him was deputy chief designer Simone Resta, who was awarded the Fonderie Morini Gold Medal, as well as Felipe Massa. The Brazilian was also honoured, receiving a special career achievement award, presented to him by Lorenzo’s sister, Gabriella Bandini.

“It is an honour and a pleasure to receive this recognition,” said Felipe. “I was already here in 2007 and I was able to appreciate the passion that drives the organisers of such a prestigious award aimed at all us drivers. I am proud to be here representing Ferrari in the year of the twenty fifth anniversary of the death of Enzo: if he had not created the most famous car company and brand in the world, we would not be here. It would have been wonderful to have known him personally.”

There were plenty of questions relating to next weekend’s Italian Grand Prix. “Let’s hope this award brings us luck, because Monza is a special point in the season, where we must get a good result,” commented the Ferrari man. “For me, this is a second home race after the one in Brazil: my family originally comes from Italy, so I have a special feeling for this event. The support one gets from the fans is fantastic and we really hope we can give them something to cheer about. In Belgium, the F138 was better than in previous races and we hope the updates we will have at the track can help us make a further step forward, both in the race and in qualifying, not just in Monza, but for the rest of the season.”

Inevitably, the topic of Felipe’s personal future cropped up, given that it’s a hot topic right now. “I’m used to this situation, as it’s been like this since I started my career,” he joked. “ The rumours mean nothing, all that matters is the faith the team has in me and I feel that very strongly. I know I must have a better second half of the season, after a first one where unfortunately, the results were lacking in some races, but the performance has always been up there. I think I still have a very strong chance of staying with Ferrari.”