18/07/2012
NEWS STORY
Following a terrible start to his season, Felipe Massa finally appears to be on top of things, gradually adding to his points tally and thereby assisting teammate Fernando Alonso as Ferrari aims for both titles.
As the Brazilian's early season form went from bad to worse, the rumour mill went into overdrive, barely a day passing without X, Y or Z(orro) linked with his seat. Last week's deal which sees Mark Webber remain with Red Bull for 2013 ended that particular avenue of speculation, however, as the whispering campaign continues, Massa insists that he pays no heed top the talk.
"Of course I keep an eye on what is going on with other drivers, just as anyone likes to know what is going on in whatever work they do," he told the team's website. "But the only thing that is important for me is that I keep performing in the same way I did in Silverstone.
"In the two Grands Prix prior to that, in Montreal and Valencia, I should have been entirely capable of finishing in the top five or on the podium," he continued, "but for various reasons - a spin in Montreal and a problem with the floor of the car in Valencia - that did not happen. Without that, since Monaco, I would have been fighting for the top five at every race. I'm sure that driving the way I am now is the only thing I can do and need to do to ensure my future.
"What happens in the drivers' market does not have a significant effect on my position. If I carry on performing the way I did in Silverstone, then I don't feel too worried about my future."
This weekend's race marks the halfway point in the longest season in the history of the sport, for Massa, twenty races, maybe even twenty-three races, is no problem at all.
"It does not feel like a long year to me now, although everything is related to how well you are doing on the track. In my situation, I have had some strong races recently and our car is getting better all the time, so you want to keep racing, because you have in mind that your performance can get even better. In our case, I expect that trend to continue all the way through to the final round of the championship. But if you are struggling, having hard races, then you really have to dig deep and in those circumstances, it can seem like a long road, although even then, you have the incentive to work hard and look ahead to every race in the hope of doing better. It's human nature that you have to push yourself harder when times are tough. Thankfully, at the moment, we are not in that position and I'm looking forward to all the remaining races, so the fact it is a long season is fine for me. Twenty races is definitely a long championship, but I am enjoying the fact that we have many races remaining to get some good results.
"Looking at where I was just before Silverstone, I am aware that are a lot of points still available over the coming eleven races," he added. "It is very important for me and I want to fight to get back into the top six or top five. That might be a difficult target to achieve, but you always need to set yourself a hard challenge. In addition, the Constructors' Championship is very important to us and the better I do in the drivers' the more I help Ferrari."
Last Friday, Felipe made his regular in-between races trip to Maranello, a journey that involves a very early start and a late return on those occasions when he is only there for a day. "I was in the simulator, preparing for the upcoming races, as well as having meetings with my engineers to find out what our plans are for these two back to back races in Germany and Hungary. I am looking forward to going back to Hockenheim after a year's break. It's an interesting track and I have finished on the podium there twice before and, as the F2012 continues to improve, we can hope to be competitive this weekend, although this championship has been so hard to predict, therefore we cannot be really sure what to expect until we start driving there."