Massa: I feel I can do a lot for this team

In past years, Hockenheim has been all about the cauldron of heat that characterises the German Grand Prix weekend, but today, as Felipe Massa faced the media in the Scuderia Hospitality unit in the Hockenheimring paddock, it seemed that the cool temperatures and overcast skies had followed the F1 circus across the seas from the British Grand Prix. The media questions had not changed much either: in Silverstone the journalists suggested the Brazilian should be worried that Mark Webber might replace him at Ferrari and today, they suggested he should be worried that the Australian had confirmed he had talked to Ferrari!

“I’m sure not just Mark but a big number of drivers have been in touch, have called Ferrari,” said Felipe. “That’s because I would say most of the drivers would love to drive for Ferrari! It’s not a problem for me and all I have to do is think about my job, the direction I am going in and the results I achieve. Ferrari is a great team and it would be nice to stay with them, but whatever the situation it is always important to get good results on track. Once you race for Ferrari, you never want to change: it’s an important team and it’s always a great pleasure to race for Ferrari. If I didn’t feel okay, I would look around at other teams, but I do feel okay here and I feel I can do a lot for this team, so let’s work on that. Of course, if you are in a situation where you have a long contract then that means you have no worries, but it is always going to happen at some point that you are in the last year of your current contract. A driver always has pressure, especially in a big team, but it is part of our life.”

The next ten days will see a lot of points assigned in the championships, with the race in Budapest taking place just a week after this event. The Ferrari man was clear on the point that the team must keep its current momentum going through Hockenheimring and Hungaroring. “These next two races, one week apart before the summer break, are going to be very important, especially when you look at the current situation in the championship,” he maintained. “It is so competitive between many drivers and many teams, which means that one result carries a lot of importance. So, we must keep fighting to get good results in these next two races, as this could be a championship where just one point can make the difference when it comes to winning the title at the end of the year. In fact, every race from now to the end of the season will be very important and if you want to be successful you need to have both cars scoring points all the time.”