Massa: I expect to improve race by race

Felipe Massa was one of the six drivers chosen for the FIA Thursday Press Conference which, on this side of the Atlantic is always held in the morning to help with European media deadlines. The first questions centred on the Ferrari’s man apparent renaissance two weeks ago in Monaco. “It was a good clean race weekend where nothing went wrong and I had good pace right from the first session,” said Felipe. “I hope we can use that fact and everything we found there to go better here in Canada and for the remaining races of the season. It was a positive weekend, although I cannot be happy finishing sixth. Although Monaco is very different to other tracks, we can use some of what we found there at other circuits. That weekend helped us understand things we had not understood before. I feel much better in the car and it really suits my driving style now, so I expect to improve race by race, with victory and the podium as my target.”

As to whether the Ile Notre Dame track layout will suit the F2012, the Brazilian did not have a clear answer to give just yet. “It’s very difficult to say: this track has a lot of slow corners, chicanes, hairpins and a very long straight, so looking at the way this season has gone, it is very hard to know if a particular track will suit our car, will it be the right track or not. You need good speed on the straight here and that is something we have been trying to improve all season. Let’s wait and see.”

On the technical front, Felipe was asked about news that Ferrari would be doing a comparison test with two different exhaust systems in tomorrow’s free practice. “We have some pieces to try here and the direction is to find downforce,” he confirmed. “How much the updates can bring, we will have to wait and see once we are on the track.”

As usual, Felipe faced questions regarding his future, one of the great “traditions” of his long Ferrari career. “I did not say that if I no longer drove for Ferrari I would stop,” explained the Ferrari man, correcting a journalist who asked the question. “I said that if I might have to go to a small team, then maybe I would think about doing something else. But now we must think about the present: I am here and as always I am trying to fight for the victory as I have done for many years and I am looking forward to being in that position again soon, so that I can fight for victories and the championship. I trust myself and even if the season did not start as I expected, things are getting better. It is important to carry on in this direction and look to the future, whether that means still driving for Ferrari or looking for a good direction in which to race.”

Usually on a Thursday at the Gilles Villeneuve circuit, the pit lane is packed with fans who were allowed in free of charge as part of an initiative from the race organisers to allow as many people as possible to see the cars up close. However, because of fears of a disturbance from protesting students, the event was cancelled. The drivers were asked to comment and this is what Felipe had to say on the subject. “We want to see everyone here at the circuit, enjoying the sport, enjoying Formula 1 and we hope that the situation returns to normal. For us, we feel sad about this situation that the fans could not come here today.”