F1 very unpredictable at the moment - Massa
It was clear on the circuit and obvious in the paddock that Felipe Massa was in much better form in Montreal than he had been in the early part of the season: one could say there were more miles per hour on the track and more smiles per hour everywhere else.
Before heading for Valencia, the Scuderia Ferrari driver told us why. “It’s true, I’m much happier, because I can drive the F2012 much more in the way I like now. This means I am much more pleased with my driving, and with the balance of the car and the pace I can run at. When that happens, of course, you feel good and for sure, all the modifications and updates introduced on the car helped in this process, but also important was the way we worked on the set-up with my engineers. We changed many things in terms of the balance and found a good direction that suits me.”
So does this mean the Brazilian is going in a different direction to his team-mate. “I think so, not totally, but certainly we are working in a different way,” admits Felipe. “Every driver has his own style, the way he turns the steering wheel, or uses the throttle pedal and if you don’t feel comfortable with something then it definitely doesn’t help. You know how it is with Formula 1 and in fact, not just Formula 1 but all sports at the top level, it involves working on the very small details. When something is not working for you, you move away from the right direction and lose performance, as you are not operating at 100% yourself.”
The F2012 has improved considerably in recent weeks, however, it is not the quickest car on the grid. However, Massa is pleased with the current rate of development work. “For sure, we have many new parts, compared to the beginning of the season when we were far from how happy with our development. In the last three races, things have started to move much more in the right direction, with the right level of development producing a good level of performance. We have seen that in Barcelona, Monaco and Canada and from now on, I know there are many more updates coming and I expect that improving trend to continue.”
There was a time, just a couple of years ago when, if the Scuderia went well in Monaco and Canada, the pundits claimed it was simply down to the fact those Grands Prix always featured the use of tyres from the softer end of the spectrum, which traditionally have better suited the Maranello monocoques. “Certainly, if we could choose, we still prefer soft tyres,” conceded Felipe. “This year the tyres are much softer than last year, but anyway this year’s car struggles much less than in the past when it comes to bringing tyres up to temperature quickly. So, running the Medium and Soft this weekend, should be fine for us.”
Top speed has been another weakness of the current Prancing Horse car, but the Ferrari man does not see this as such a problem. “If you look in Montreal, even if our top speed was not so good, neither was that of other top teams such as McLaren and Red Bull and even Mercedes. However, in Canada, we were still able to overtake cars in a conventional way, cars that in the past we had struggled to overtake with DRS. This shows the other teams have changed their approach and we have also improved our top speed as well.” As for the Valencia circuit, inevitably, Massa is a fan. Why inevitably? Because he won the very first race held here back in 2008. “I like the track and even if people say it’s a street circuit, it’s not, because the major part of it is more like a permanent circuit, quite wide and not too tight. It always puts you in a positive frame of mind coming to a place where you have won before. So, I hope we can have another good weekend this time, especially given the fact our car is now more competitive in the races and also in qualifying, because we know how important your Saturday afternoon performance can be for the Sunday. You can overtake at Valencia, especially with the DRS, but starting from the front, being able to run at your own pace immediately right from the beginning, changes everything. It means you don’t get stuck behind cars that are quick in qualifying but slower in the race, which can carry a high price.”
Since the last race in Canada, Massa has attended meetings at the factory to keep up to date with developments and he has also worked hard on his fitness. “Of course, I always train,” he says. “But you have to consider that in general, the next few races can all be very hot, starting with very warm weather in Valencia, so that means your physical condition is even more important than usual.” Felipe would not be a true Brazilian without a passion for football and even without his home team, he has been keenly following the European championship. “It’s a very interesting tournament, with some unusual circumstances: maybe you could expect Spain to win very easily, but that is not so clear cut and some of the less favourite teams have been doing well. Of course, I hope Italy does well and so far I think they have been better than expected. Given the troubles in Italy recently, with the earthquakes, it would be fantastic if the national football team can do better and better and give the people a great result to help them at this time. But the European championship seems to be like Formula 1 at the moment – very unpredictable!”
Source Ferrari
