Massa: new tyres make overtaking harder

Bridgestone will be the sole supplier next season following the withdrawal of Michelin, and the Japanese manufacturer plan a conservative approach for their tyres.

Teams got their first taste of what the tyres will be like in Barcelona during last week's test, and Massa says they make the cars more difficult to drive.

"The driving changes: there's less grip, the tyres are harder and the car tends to slide," the Brazilian told Gazzetta dello Sport. "The braking distance got longer, you need to drive more smoothly because it's easier to lose the back or locking the front tyres.

"You can't be aggressive in the turns. This won't help overtaking. There will be even less grip in the slipstream."

The Ferrari driver also believes Ferrari will not have an advantage over their rivals, despite their long relationship with Bridgestone.

"I don't think so, it's all different for us too: we found it hard to find the right set up, even if we demonstrated to be competitive," he added.