Q & A with Felipe Massa

Felipe Massa: It was very competitive, all three sessions. The first one I was straightaway with a good lap time. The second one was okay but I didn't have a clean lap. There were always people in front and we didn't have a really good lap. So it was very, very competitive.

And then in the third one it was a little bit more difficult. I was struggling a little bit with more oversteer, especially at the end of the session when everyone was improving and I expected to be in the right moment to fight for pole. But the car was a bit difficult in that moment and I think I did a good job also for the strategy as well.

We need to see tomorrow and how it is going to be, because when you have a difficult day like this it is very difficult to find the right strategy for the race. We don't know how the race is going to be tomorrow, so if you have a good strategy it could pay off a lot. I think I have a good strategy, I hope I have a good car and also we have a good speed in the straight, which can be important.

Q. Has Fuji been more fun and any more difficult than anticipated?

FM: I think it is fun. For sure it is an interesting circuit. Honestly I like it. It is better than I expected. Suzuka is always a very nice track and although I prefer a little bit Suzuka, but I like this circuit. Even in the wet I expected to have more slippery asphalt than we had. So it was okay to drive in these conditions.

Q. How do you view the balance of competitiveness between McLaren and Ferrari here?

FM: I think it is very close in whatever conditions. In the dry, it was very close even if the lap times did not show it. In the wet it was also close, so tomorrow will be an interesting race.

Q. You have talked about the speed on the straight here. Are you able to run with less downforce than the McLaren?

FM: It looks like we have, because we have a quicker car on the straight. So I think we have lower downforce, but you never know in the race. In Spa we had lower downforce and a good car, so let's hope we can repeat having a better balance in the race.

Q. You obviously need to finish ahead of Lewis (Hamilton) tomorrow to keep your championship hopes alive. Does that dictate an all-out aggressive approach?

FM: Let's try to do the best in the race and afterwards we can then think about it (the title). If it is finished then we will try again next year. Hopefully we can still fight, but if it is finished then we will try again next year.

Q. Do you think what happened between the two McLaren drivers at the first corner at Spa could prove to be an important factor in the world championship?

FM: I think it will be very interesting, the first corners at each of the last three races. We saw that they are fighting really hard with each other, and you never know. Maybe it can be good, maybe not. We need to wait and see. It is difficult to plan things like this before.

Q. Do you think about their rivalry?

FM: No. You cannot think before, because you don't know how it is going to be. We need to think after, when we see if we were lucky and were able to pass them. You cannot plan for these sorts of things. We need to wait and see if it is good or not for us.

Q. Is this is a track where it is easier to overtake, which means the pitstops are not so important in the fight for position?

FM: Yeah, I think so. I think it is a very long straight. For sure the only place where it is easier to overtake is on the straight. But having a good speed, it is possible. It is possible that we can have plenty of overtakes during the race.

Q. It could pay to have a car with less downforce then?

FM: It depends how much less downforce you have. If you are in the reasonable optimum for your car, and you see that you are quicker than the others on the straight then you are in the right optimum for your car. Then it pays, for sure. But if you don't, then maybe you struggle with the tyre wear.

Q. Have the team said anything to you about needing to play a supporting role to Kimi Raikkonen tomorrow in terms of helping him out with the title chase?

FM: No. We need to wait and see how the race goes. For sure if I have no opportunities, and if I see a McLaren in front for example, then it will be difficult. We need to finish in front of them for our championship.

Kimi is in a better position than me, but for both it is very difficult. We need to put both cars in front but we need to see how the race goes. I need to also be in front, and if I am first and Kimi is behind a McLaren then I cannot change anything.

So we need to put both cars in front and we need to decide the best for the team, and the best to improve the championship situation.