Massa upbeat over new Ferrari

The Brazilian, driving a current Formula 1 car for the first time since his accident at last year's Hungarian Grand Prix, went quickest of all after over 100 laps of the Ricardo Tormo circuit.

Massa admitted it was good to be back in competitive action and felt the new Ferrari has not inherited the problems of its predecessor, with which the team endured a difficult 2009.

"For sure I'm happy to be back after such a long time watching the races in television, sometimes on track," Massa told reporters at the end of the day.

"I think it was a very positive day. The car behaved very well. We managed to start and finish our programme like expected, even did a few more laps than expected. So I think it all went very well on the first day.

"The car behaved in a good direction in terms of... I felt it was an easier car to drive compared to last year's. Last year it was always difficult to find the balance. This year it was just one day but at least it was quite positive and quite easier to find the set-up and the balance.

"Also in the tyres I didn't feel any problems. I think everything went in a very good direction for the first day but it's not enough. There's still a lot to improve until the first race, which is the most important thing."

He added: "I'm happy for the first day. It was not like last year, when we already knew there were problems with the car. So this time we could finish our programme in a very easy way, so I'm quite happy.

"It's always good to have a good first impression of the car, but I still know there's a long way to go. So we need to work every day. We know how F1 changes to quickly that if you don't improve the car every day it's difficult."

Massa, who had tested a 2007 Ferrari since his accident, said he had no physical problems despite being the busiest man on track.

"It was very good from a physical point of view. I did 100 laps, but I could have done many more, and I'm 100 per cent ready to come back to racing. I'm happy for the first day."

He admitted he enjoyed sharing the track with his former team-mate Michael Schumacher, now a Mercedes GP driver.

"It was nice, it was fun. We also had a nice moment when I was passing him and we waved at each other. It was very nice.

"I think for the sport it is very good that he's back. It's interesting and for sure he will be quite competitive, which makes the situation definitely not easy, but we are just starting and I'm happy for the first day."