Massa unsure about where Ferrari stands

Although the Maranello outfit appeared to have made big progress up to the Monaco Grand Prix, it has slipped back down the order in the most recent races in Turkey and Britain.

And after suffering mixed fortunes at Silverstone, with the car far quicker in the race than it was in qualifying, Massa believes that at best his team is in the gaggle of cars chasing Brawn and Red Bull.

"I don't know," said Massa about where he believes Ferrari stands. "For the moment, we need to look race-by-race. We went to Barcelona and made a fantastic performance there.

"We went to Monaco as well, and when we went to Turkey it was a bit less than we expected. Then we went to here, and it was really, really difficult. Then in the race we showed a good performance.

"So I don't know. For me, you have now Red Bull, you have Brawn, and then you have two or three teams who are in a similar position, and for the moment we are inside these teams."

Massa believes the transformation in Ferrari's pace from its struggles on Saturday to quick pace on Sunday could be explained simply by the higher track temperatures suiting his car better.

"On race day it was a bit hotter than in qualifying. It was three or four degrees [centigrade], which sometimes looks like a bit of an excuse, but three or four degrees on the range of the temperature that the tyres need to work can make a big difference. I think maybe this can be a reasonable answer to your question," he said.

"Apart from that, I don't know. The car in the race was much better than it was in qualifying, so the race pace was really, really good. But in qualifying we did not find a direction."

And Massa also believes that KERS was a benefit for him and team-mate Kimi Raikkonen in Silverstone - despite suggestions from his team boss that the technology has been a flop.

"My start was very good, thanks for the KERS," he said. "I did a very good initial start, even without the KERS. I passed Fernando and when I got the power from KERS, I was able to push and pass more cars. So the KERS was a big help for us - although more on the start."