Massa a Winner Already in Turkey

"I'm looking forward to racing in Turkey because I have already won there in the Sauber Petronas C24," he declared in a team preview.

"I did the race simulation on my PlayStation and I won. And I did the difficult level, against all the other Championship runners," he added.

Massa, who will replace compatriot Rubens Barrichello at Championship-winning Ferrari next season, cannot expect any repeat at the new Istanbul Otodrom, however.

Sauber, to become BMW's new team next year after being bought by the German carmaker, have never won a Grand Prix and Massa has yet to step on to the podium in 47 starts for the Swiss-based team.

None of the 20 Grand Prix drivers have raced on the new Hermann Tilke-designed circuit on the Asian side of Istanbul but Massa said he expected it to be closest to Germany's Nurburgring.

"From what I have seen, I think the track layout is not too bad and usually these computer games are very accurate in the way they depict the circuits," he said.

"There are some quick corners, elevation changes and long straights - it's a bit like the latest Nurburgring with a long back straight with a quick corner in the middle."

While several drivers use computer simulations to prepare for unfamiliar tracks, with both Bahrain and China making their debuts last year, not all are convinced by them.

"It doesn't take long to learn new tracks, although it's not something you can replicate properly beforehand using computer games," said BAR's Jenson Button, who drove around the anti-clockwise circuit in a road car recently.

"They teach you which way the corners go, but there's no substituting for getting out there in a Formula One car."

Renault's Giancarlo Fisichella, who has been studying a DVD of laps in a regular road car, said he would get his first real impression by walking the track on Thursday before repeating his steps on a scooter.

"Some drivers use their PlayStation to learn the track, but I think the video will be plenty for me," said the Italian.