Good base line for the race weekend - Massa
Scuderia Ferrari driver Felipe Massa is completely ready for the upcoming Spanish Grand Prix weekend. After winning in Bahrain and testing at the Circuit de Catalunya, the Brazilian is now focussing on a victory at Barcelona.
Massa: "After winning in Bahrain and then spending a few days holiday with my wife and parents in Dubai, I returned home to Monaco and I have to say that after such a busy start to the season, it felt good to be back home and to be able to stay there for a while. Of course I headed for Spain in the middle of it all where I had two worthwhile days of testing in Barcelona, the first two days of the four day session. On the first day, the track was actually very dirty, so I didn't do so many laps in the morning, but by the afternoon we did quite a lot. We concentrated on running the slick tyres, similar to those we will have next year, just to get a feel for how they work. It was pretty interesting as it was the first time in my career that I had driven a Formula 1 car on slicks. Later in the week, the team adapted the car to have less downforce when running these tyres, but when I had a go it was basically this year's car with no changes and it was quite incredible as the car had a lot of downforce so the lap times were also very impressive. It felt like I was driving a completely new car as you need to be a lot more aggressive in your driving style, as the grip level was much higher than usual. From a driving point of view it was really amazing and it was a great pleasure to get the maximum out of the performance of the car, making the most of the aerodynamic and mechanical grip and setting some incredible lap times. I also did some laps with these tyres when they had not been warmed in the usual way. At the moment, there is a suggestion that next year, we would not be allowed to use our tyre warmers - those blankets you see wrapped around the tyres when we sit in the garage or on the grid. In terms of performance, but also more importantly, safety, the tyres were of course at their best if they had been in the blankets. When I tried them without it was very difficult to drive on the "out" lap, even though it was not a particularly cold day. So never mind the performance element, I think the blankets are mainly important from the safety point of view.
"On the second day, I concentrated on our programme for the Spanish Grand Prix, working on set-up. We also tried the tyres we will have this weekend and generally I was happy with the balance me and the engineers found for the car and I think we have established a good base line for the race weekend. I was the first to test our new and much discussed nose with the slot in it on the F2008. Everyone was talking about this but only because it is so highly visible, but in reality, it represents just a small step forward in our performance. It is not this that will make the car one second a lap quicker! I don't think any single part can ever do that. It is just a normal step forward in aerodynamic terms. Sometimes we make a very small change to another aero part that people do not see, but that can be even more important to the package than this nose that everyone is talking about.
"During a season, I try so many different things on the car, but we drivers participate in the whole process of evaluating new components. It is not just a case for example of running this new nose and seeing what the stopwatch says. We drivers have to assess how it works in conjunction with the floor of the car or with different suspension set-ups, even the brakes. So we participate fully in the development, but of course the most important factor is to drive and then describe as precisely as possible what we feel about the changes.
"As for this weekend and the race in Barcelona, it will be as tough as any other, even if I think we can be very competitive if we do our best at all times. But everything can change quickly, not just from one race to the next, but even in terms of how the car feels at this circuit from last week's test to this week's race weekend. Last year I won here what was, to be honest, an amazing race and for me it is difficult to forget! I remember being very very close to Alonso in qualifying and he was in a very determined mood as he was at his home race and in a competitive car. It was a tough competition between us. I made a very good start and maintained the advantage through the first corner where Alonso tried everything he knew to pass me. That start was really his only chance to get by because we had a very good strategy. We had a bit of a moment next to one another in the first corner, but I had the inside line and managed to stay in front. I had a very good pace in the race and from then on it was not so difficult to control the pace.
"Apart from the test last week, I have not done much, just staying at home and working on my fitness. There is a small but well equipped gym in the apartment block where I live. Actually, I often see Nico Rosberg in there, as he is a neighbour of mine in the same block. But we tend to work to our own programme in the gym, which is a good thing or it might start getting too competitive between the two of us!"
