Massa upbeat on Spanish GP chances

The Brazilian, winner of the Bahrain Grand Prix over three weeks ago, will be one of the favourites to fight for victory in Spain after showing strong form in testing at the Circuit de Catalunya.

"Of course, I can be optimistic about the Spanish Grand Prix: I won the last race, we had a good test at the same circuit that hosts the race and even though it is never easy to win races, I can be confident," Massa said on Ferrari's website.

"Within the team, we just want to keep the momentum going forward and everyone is working very hard in every area to achieve that."

Ferrari introduced several updates for their car in the test, including a new engine cover, a revised front wing and modified sidepods, and also some mechanical changes that Massa reckons have made the car faster ahead of the start of the European season.

"For me, it was a successful test as we have definitely made some improvements to the car, which was always planned for this first session after the opening three races outside Europe.

"The team has worked very hard and the reward is a good step forward, especially on the aerodynamic side.

"The actual results and laptimes were good, but you have to remember that in testing it is quite difficult to get a really one hundred percent understanding of what the other teams have achieved. The most important thing is that we have made a step forward and this weekend we will see how it compares to our rivals."

Massa is currently fourth in the drivers' standings, five points behind the leading trio formed by Kimi Raikkonen, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton.