Massa says new teams bad for F1

Massa's Ferrari team has been strongly critical of the way the increased F1 entry was handled, and the Brazilian said the newcomers' lack of speed is a concern for him too.

"I hope they won't be a danger," said Massa in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reprinted on Ferrari's website.

"There are six/seven teams one second apart while those teams are four seconds behind. It's not good for the sport and not good for them: it's like two different series.

"They'll suffer. And we'll suffer too, when we have them in front of us during qualifying."

Lotus and Virgin were several seconds off the pace in pre-season testing, but are confident they will get up to speed given time and mileage, while fellow newcomer Hispania will not run until Bahrain next weekend.