Q & A with Felipe Massa

But he still trails the McLaren drivers in the championship, and expects the battle to remain tight all season.

Autosport.com caught up with Massa during this week's test at Paul Ricard to hear his thoughts on preparations for Monaco, and his title prospects.

Q: How are the preparations for Monaco going?

Felipe Massa: We are trying out set-up and parts, which are not totally new. It's a normal test really. Monaco is so different from any other circuits we come to so we are trying various things and it has been good.

Q: Ferrari used to test Monaco settings at Fiorano, so why are you now using Paul Ricard?

FM: They are similar, the difference is very small, but here there are other teams to test with. It is interesting to see (the comparison).

Q: McLaren did a very good lap time on Monday but you were doing a long run, are you satisfied so far?

FM: I am satisfied, yes, in this battle.

Q: Are we going to see a similar battle in Monaco to the one you had with Alonso in Spain?

FM: No, simply because there is not enough space in Monaco to do that, but I have to say that a good start is very important, which means qualifying is very important. It is vital to get a pole and keep the advantage.

Q: With three pole and two victories, are you now heading the fight for the championship?

FM: We are going for the championship. I have to say we have to keep on working hard, driving as consistently as possible, to be in the best possible positon whenever, to be on the podium.

Q: Did you test the super soft tyres?

FM: I tried them today but it was not conclusive because I caught traffic. Because of that I cannot say 100 percent sure on the compound. It was a shame but I am sure the super soft is the faster of the two for Monaco. So we have to work harder on the harder spec to make use of it. On Thursday, the track is bad and knowing that the track will be so much better on Saturday and Sunday, we have to work well to make best of it on the first day. The difference is pretty big.

Q: Looking back at Barcelona, how satisfying was the race?

FM: I am really happy. They were two fantastic races. Starting from the free session and qualifying, I think we could use everything we did in the winter test in the last two races.

There were so many reasons we could not start the season like this, mainly for technical problems, and now we managed to put everything together. It was really a great achievement but this is nothing, even (though) we won two races we have 13 races to go and other races will be important. Even you win you never have enough time to be satisfied, (you always) need to work more.

Q: Did your mental attitude change after Malaysia?

FM: Honestly I did not change anything. The only thing I can say is maybe in Malaysia I was sleeping at the start, and in the first corner I was on the outside. That's why, if Fernando was outside he could not pass me.

Even in Malaysia I could have tried but I could have finished like Fernando (did in Spain) so we saw that who is on inside and who is on the preferential side in the corner has more chance. At the last race I was aggressive and I tried to keep the inside line in both of the races and I was successful.

Q: Can you explain why your teammate is not quite at ease in qualifying?

FM: The car is good to drive in whichever mode, we improved that in testing and we made four pole positons in the four races. I think for sure Kimi is a great driver and he is quick so I think I did a good job as well.

Q: How is your mindset now, are you really up for the title chase?

FM: For sure I'm quite motivated and I am working hard. We need to put in our minds that nothing will come for free, we need to get everything we can in the track, nothing will come free to us, we still have many races to go. We have only done four and maybe in five races the championship may be compeletely different - maybe it is in our favour, maybe it is not. We need to work, keep improving race by race, trying to get as many achievements as we can. The way I am working is I have a good team and a competitive car, (so) we concentrate every day.

Q: Can you complete a hat-trick of victories by winning Monaco?

FM: For sure a hat-trick (would be) a great achievement, it is a big present for me. Last year I crashed in qualifying but I was going to do a quick lap so I think we try to do best we can. The races I did badly last year I won this year, so the car is good, we will have a competitive car, but also on my side, I can do better as well.

Q: Would a Monaco win be particularly special for you?

FM: Monaco is always special - if you win there it means a great victory. For most of the drivers the most important victory is the home GP but I have done that so Monaco is really special. I am looking forward to that but also in Monaco it is very easy to get involved in accidents.