Ferrari insists Massa has full support

After a first corner exit in Japan, on the back of a gearbox failure that left him at the back of the grid in Singapore, Massa has come under pressure to recover his form in a bid to help team-mate Fernando Alonso grab the title.

In the build-up to the Japanese Grand Prix, Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo also issued a veiled warning that Massa had to lift his game - as any driver not doing his bit for the team would not continue there.

Di Montezemolo's comments fuelled fresh speculation that Massa could be on the way out of the team - and there has even been talk that race engineer Rob Smedley may follow him.

Ferrari has however repeatedly insisted that Massa will definitely be staying at Ferrari in 2011 - and team principal Stefano Domenicali said the outfit was ready to help and support the Brazilian.

"More than what I have said I don't know what we have to do," Domenicali said when asked by AUTOSPORT about the latest Massa speculation following di Montezemolo's statement.

"I think that at the moment it is important to keep him calm and concentrated. He [Massa] knows that the team is totally behind him, there is no doubt about it.

"It is part of this game, it is part of this sport, part of this pressure from outside. But what we need to do is stay close to him, and he is very strong mentally.

"He is the first to show in the last races who he is, and what his real value is - which we know."