Massa draws positives from heartbreak

The Ferrari looked set for another victory to move into the championship lead when he suffered an engine problem that forced him out of the Hungaroring event.

His exit handed victory to McLaren rival Heikki Kovalainen.

Despite the frustration, Massa looked at the positive side of the race, and reckons his and his team's strong performance bode well for the next few races.

"The confidence is there. I think after a race like that, even with the bad result at the end with two laps to go, it still counts what we did in the race," Massa told reporters.

"We showed a great performance, a great pace and great teamwork. That is very good for the next races."

He added: "I am sure it is not a great feeling. When things looked already finished with only two laps to go and then you just hear something and have a strange feeling in the car as the engine breaks down, for sure it is not a great feeling. I feel really bad, and not happy for what has happened.

"We did a perfect job today and then we just gave it away because two laps to go is not really a fantastic feeling. I feel very bad but unfortunately this is part of our sport.

"Now, we need to think forward and we need to think about the next race. We have a little bit of a break now, which will be good to prepare our energy for the last seven races," added the Ferrari driver, how eight point behind McLaren's Lewis Hamilton in the standings.

Massa, third on the grid, made a sensational start, overtaking Kovalainen on the straight and Hamilton on the first corner.

From there, the Brazilian never looked back and had the race under control until he suffered the problem.

"Well, I think my race was done on the start," he added. "The start was the only place where we could have passed Lewis (Hamilton) and had the opportunity to win the race, so that is why I took a lot of risk. But it worked.

"I think I made a great start and we showed incredible pace afterwards. I even managed to open the gap, which allowed me to open the gap in front of him some laps shorter than the strategy (demanded). Then we did a perfect job during the first stint and the second stint.

"My engineer was explaining everything on the radio. The pitstops were great and everything was perfect, and then....the end we know."