Massa : Nothing is decided at the moment, but I am very confident

The FIA seemed to be showing signs of an ironic sense of humour in choosing the candidates for today’s official press conference at the unexpectedly hot and sunny Suzuka circuit this afternoon. The panel was made up of three drivers who know for which team they are driving next year – Lewis Hamilton, Sergio Perez and Jenson Button, while on the row behind them were three whose future plans are yet to be confirmed – Paul di Resta, Kamui Kobayashi and Scuderia Ferrari’s Felipe Massa.

Our Brazilian driver could write the textbook on how a driver deals with this situation, namely in a straightforward and polite manner. “Nothing is decided at the moment, but I am very confident,” stated Felipe. “As I’ve said before, the important thing for me and the team is to continue to try and get the best results possible, so I am just going to concentrate and do my best, looking forward to this weekend and the next one in Korea.”

Asked if the fact that Sergio Perez had signed for McLaren for 2013, meaning that one possible candidate for his seat with the Scuderia had been removed, had reassured him, Felipe offered a tentative “maybe,” before adding he was confident his situation was moving forward in the right direction.

The Ferrari man was reminded that his best performance here in Japan came in 2006, when he started from pole and finished second and when asked what were his hopes for this weekend, his answer was short and to the point: “The same result to 2006 would be good,” he replied with a smile. “This is a very challenging circuit, one of the best tracks in the world and it would be fantastic to have a good race and get a good result on Sunday.”