Massa '100 percent' optimistic for title

The Ferrari driver, who comes in to the 2008 finale seven points adrift of McLaren's Lewis Hamilton, believes that racing in front of his home crowd at Interlagos may give him a crucial advantage on race day.

"The crowd does help especially in my favour," Massa said in a press conference organised by Ferrari supplier Shell, in Sao Paulo on Thursday. "I am a local driver, I am Brazilian, so it does help and I am sure people will be rooting against Hamilton."

"I have high hopes," he added.

"I would rather arrive here seven points ahead not behind, but I am optimistic.

"I hope to have a good race, I want to win the championship but the rest does not rest on me. The optimism is always 100 percent."

Massa also said that he was not concerned about potential rain forecast for the weekend, despite question marks being raised about his, and Ferrari's wet weather performances this season.

"I was criticised," he said when asked about his wet weather skills. "We have to be prepared for criticism.

"People say I cannot drive in wet conditions, because in my career in karting and in lower categories I always won when it rains and then in F1 I had lots of negative wet races. The car influences this a lot and it is not news that our car suffers in the race when it is heavy rain conditions where the tyre has lower temperatures.

"When it is a little cold you don't have ideal grip. The tyre does not work in a lower temperature and we suffer because our tyre doesn't wear that much. It is the challenge of any designer but racing with harder tyres we suffer under certain conditions.

"That is a factor, but I never thought I would not be able to drive I the rain. Unfortuantely I had some races this year where I was no good, but in Monaco I was the fastest car in the rain so I don't believe it."