Ferrari boosted by podium, says Massa

The Brazilian scored his first podium finish of the year at the Nurburgring last weekend, on the back of a difficult first half to the campaign that has seen the team held back by the F60's lack of pace compared to Brawn GP and Red Bull Racing.

And although the current form is far short of what the team had been expected heading into the season, Massa believes the latest result has helped fire the outfit up for a fresh push on victory.

"Being on the podium was a good feeling but also a strange feeling at the same time and it was definitely something I'd been missing," Massa told the official Ferrari website. "In a difficult season this was nice because it's a sign of the improvement going on within our team.

"In the past few races we've been scoring points again, always in the top five so to do even better and finish on the podium was good, not just for me but also in terms of motivating everyone in the team and at the factory. It proves we are still fighting but it is important for us to keep working."

Massa returns to the Hungaroring next weekend with mixed feelings - well aware how dominant he was in last year's race but also hurting from the memories of the engine failure that cost him victory, and ultimately the world championship.

"I haven't got very good results at this race but that doesn't mean I don't race well there: if you remember last year I had the win in my pocket, but then my engine unfortunately let me down with just two laps to go.

"It's a nice circuit to drive even if it's not really one of my favourites, but ask me how we will get on in this race and to be honest I really don't know. I hope we can carry on making improvements to our package, carrying on in the same direction as in Germany."