Q & A with Felipe Massa

Felipe Massa: It is not a new track, it is a very old track. The last bit is different, which for me is not a big difference, just a different layout and it is not very impressive. It is not a very good corner, if it is improving for overtaking maybe it is positive but in terms of driving it is not a big difference.

Q. What do you think of the pitlane entry? Problematic?

FM: Yes, the entry was not very good to make it completely narrow like that. Already when you are on the limit you run very close to the wall. You have problems if you stop there, as no one can go inside. It is very narrow.

Q. What are your feelings about the next race in Germany?

FM: The feeling is good. Unfortunately I was not so lucky in the last race, but the car was very good, the base was very good. Hopefully we can do a good job in the next race.

Q. Do you think Ferrari will be back in front of the McLarens?

FM: Maybe. Being in front is a big job to do, we are working hard, so hopefully we can have a fight in the end of the championship to be in front of them.

Q. Can you give me an update on your testing programme?

FM: In the morning we did not try anything new. We checked the downforce configuration, but we did not try anything new on the car. It was good. Yesterday we went a bit wrong with the set-up but today we found a better one.

Q. Do you think testing here will help you in the Nurburgring race?

FM: Not so much. Maybe we will try something different to see if it works on the Nurburgring, but we cannot have a clear idea on this track for Nurburgring.

Q. Did you enjoy your race at Silverstone?

FM: In a way it was a great race, but if you look at it the other way it was the race where I had a big opportunity to win, so in the end I am not happy. When you lose an opportunity like that for the championship it is pretty bad. The show for the race is better maybe but I am looking at the championship, not the show only!

Q. The team had a tough time in North America, are you on top of that now?

FM: We have some ideas. Something did not go right but we managed to improve things and we had a very competitive car in the last two races.

Q. What do you think of your chances for the championship now?

FM: I never give up. I still think the championship is possible and we are just arriving to the middle of the season and we have many races to go. That is encouraging, and that we will have a competitive car to the last lap of the last race.

Q. Which coming races you think will favour you and your car most?

FM: I think most of the circuits will be good for our car, so it is looking good for the future. I hope bad ones are in the past.

Q. Are you understanding tyre wear more and more now?

FM: For sure now I understand more. We always need to keep working, understanding, to improve the car on new sets of tyres, as it looks like McLaren are slightly stronger on new tyres but maybe we are stronger in the race. I think it is the picture we saw in the last two races. That is something we are really pushing hard to understand, testing day by day.

Q. Do you know what was the problem at the start at Silverstone?

FM: It was a reliability problem, that is it. We need to solve it. It was the first time we had this problem so it is unfortunate, but we are working hard to solve it. I don't want reliability problems anymore.