Q & A with Felipe Massa

Felipe Massa: Well, I am sure it is not a great feeling. When things looked already finished with only two laps to go and then you just hear something and have a strange feeling in the car as the engine breaks down, for sure it is not a great feeling. I feel really bad, and not happy for what has happened.

We did a perfect job today and then we just gave it away because two laps to go is not really a fantastic feeling. I feel very bad but unfortunately this is part of our sport. Now, we need to think forward and we need to think about the next race. We have a little bit of a break now, which will be good to prepare our energy for the last seven races.

Q. How confident were you that you had everything under control?

FM: Well, I think my race was done on the start. The start was the only place where we could have passed Lewis (Hamilton) and had the opportunity to win the race, so that is why I took a lot of risk. But it worked.

I think I made a great start and we showed incredible pace afterwards. I even managed to open the gap, which allowed me to open the gap in front of him some laps shorter than the strategy (demanded). Then we did a perfect job during the first stint and the second stint. My engineer was explaining everything on the radio. The pit stops were great and everything was perfect, and then....the end we know.

When Lewis Hamilton had a problem with the tyres I knew straight away and I reduced the rpm of the engine to save everything I could for the end of the race. I had 23 seconds in front of Heikki, so I knew what I had to do. I was not in trouble, the tyres were not in trouble. I was just saving the car until the end of the race, but maybe it was not enough.

Q. How encouraging was the pace though, looking forward to the remainder of the season?

FM: Well the confidence is there. I think after a race like that, even with the bad result at the end with two laps to go, it still counts what we did in the race. We showed a great performance, a great pace and great teamwork. That is very good for the next races.

Q. Did you feel that anything was wrong with the engine before it blew?

FM: No. I felt it straight away only when it broke down.

Q. Your manoeuvre at the start, had you thought beforehand about what you could do?

FM: I was thinking about what to do at the start. But it is always difficult to think before. I was already in my mind thinking that I could pass Heikki, because I was on the clean side and we have a great start normally. So I had a great start, I passed him and then I knew already that the only way to pass Lewis is to be in the tow and maybe gain some speed. That is exactly what I did.

I was in the tow. He went completely to the inside and then I try everything around the outside and it worked. For sure that was the only possibility to win the race.

Q. Was the end of the race the most frustrating moment you've had in your career?

FM: Not the most, but I think it was one of the most frustrating. When you have a problem and you are not in a good position, you still have the excuse to say, 'okay the position was not great anyway.' But when you have a problem, when you are first with a perfect race, one of the best, it is very frustrating.

Q. Were you surprised how easy it was to keep McLaren under control?

FM: 50/50. Yesterday, for sure, what was the most important thing and what people look at is who started first and second. So I started third and it doesn't look very good. But what I did in Q2 proves we had a good car. I did a great lap. I showed the whole potential of the car and then in the race, in one direction I was surprised because they were quicker and I expected to be very, very strong. But on the other hand I was not so surprised because I knew we did a good job and we had a good car, so that was enough to keep the concentration and push even more.

Q. Has there been any answer about the engine?

FM: I think they are analysing it now. I am not sure what happened, but it was a very strong feeling. The engine broke straight away in a very big way, so I don't know what happened.

Q. This year you have had brake problems and now an engine failure. The reliability is proving to be a problem for Ferrari?

FM: I mean, it is difficult to say but for sure when you have a problem you can say that we are not at 100 percent. When you are at 100 percent, it means you finish with both cars in a very good position. This time we cannot say that everything is at 100 percent.

We still need to push hard on developing the car, but also on the reliability. But I mean, in the worst case, we are still completely in the championship fight and we still have seven races until the end. For sure we are going to push very hard in these three weeks in the factory to solve the problems and improve the areas that we need to improve.

Q. After a performance like that, do you feel you are becoming a team leader?

FM: Well, I feel that I am in a very strong position in terms of me. So I think I am still growing a lot and getting stronger and stronger race by race, so for sure that can help for the championship, the confidence, and that is the most important thing. At the moment everything is completely open, we have three cars in a very small gap in terms of points. Everything is open and full of opportunity to fight for the championship.