Felipe Massa says he was unable to show his true pace in Belgian GP

The Brazilian is fighting to convince his bosses that he has what it takes to deserve another contract at Ferrari, with the outfit set to consider its options after the Italian Grand Prix.

Although Massa could not match the stunning performance of team-mate Fernando Alonso, who climbed from ninth on the grid to finish second, he still thinks he did a decent job at Spa.

"I think the pace was positive," said Massa, when asked whether he is doing enough to secure his future.

"That showed I had the pace; doing everything right.

"I am sure we will be competitive at every race, but many races we had problems where we didn't finish in the right position but we had the pace."

Massa blamed his poor progress up the order in Belgium on losing ground at the start, after he was forced to brake to avoid a collision with Romain Grosjean on the exit of the first corner.

"I think the pace was very good but at the beginning I had a problem at the first corner," he said.

"I lost four positions and behind these cars I could not show the pace.

"Grosjean came over on my car, so I had to brake not to lose the front. I think that was the biggest problem.

"Then I had two laps with the steering wheel completely blank, not working.

"The car today was in a good direction, to finish easy in the top five, but it was all about what happened at the first corner."