Massa expects very tough weekend

The two Ferraris were only 17th and 18th this afternoon, 1.5 seconds off the pace, and that has left Massa downcast about the team's Silverstone prospects.

"I am not very happy with the way these two free practice sessions went," he said.

"The track was rather dirty and the wind also had an effect. We didn't manage to find the right way to go to improve the balance of the car.

"There is definitely a lot of work awaiting us in preparation for qualifying, where the most realistic target at the moment is to get into the top ten."

His team-mate Kimi Raikkonen remained optimistic that the practice positions could be deceptive, but still admitted that this would be a tough weekend for Ferrari.

"Difficult to say where we are in respect to the others," said Raikkonen. "We will have to wait for tomorrow's qualifying to find out. Clearly, looking at today's results, we are definitely not in for an easy weekend.

"The car's not bad in terms of balance, but doesn't seem to be quick enough."