Massa: “Shame about the time lost”

[Rob]

2.3.2011

Cheste, 3 February – Felipe Massa was not happy, nor did he want to hide his disappointment at the end of his troubled debut at the wheel of the F150. The third and final day of testing for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro began with a technical problem this morning, when a pipe broke leading to a heavy loss of oil during the first run of the day, which meant the Brazilian had to endure a long period of inactivity in the garage. Felipe got back in the car at 14.30 and did not stop until he took the chequered flag at 17.00. He thus managed to fit in 80 laps, the quickest in a time of 1.14.017. “We had a problem right at the start of the morning, when I was out on very old tyres,” explained Felipe. “It was not nice having to stop pretty much before I’d started the real work, but then, it was a relief to find out it was nothing that serious. Unfortunately, I lost a lot of time and, in the afternoon I tried to make up for it and get a feeling for the new car.”

Obviously, the main focus of questioning from the media centred on the tyres. “I am pleased with how they behaved,” continued the Brazilian. “I think that the fact there is a definite level of degradation is a positive thing in terms of the spectacle. It’s a shame I wasn’t able to do more laps, but the feeling I had was similar to the one from Abu Dhabi, even if that was at the wheel of a very different car. In my opinion, there is not that much that needs changing and I think Pirelli is working in the right direction. We did not try the hardest tyre here, because this track is not best suited to them: when we have done that, then it will be possible to give a more complete evaluation of them.”

http://www.ferrari.com/English/Formu...time_lost.aspx

[Rob]

bit of a shame for Felipe. At least he got 80 laps in. Still a good solid days work and good time in the end. Sounds like he liking the Pirelli tyres aswell. Next week test is 10th-13th.

[scuderiafan]

Now, i'm sure that Felipe will get 2 days in Jerez

[Rob]

Now, i'm sure that Felipe will get 2 days in Jerez

yeah he will. That is how they normally do it.

[justjesper]

Yes bad luck for Felipe. I'm happy that he feel comfortable in the car and that the tires is working for him.

[racingbradley]

Fingers crossed he should be back to his former self this year.

[TIFOSI_FERRARI]

good luck for the desperately massa

I hope to see you more stronger in Jerez

[justjesper]

good luck for the desperately massa

Not sure why he would be desperate ? Of course it's vital for him to get more running to get a better feel for the car, but he said it felt good and not many changes had to be made. I think Massa sounded more optimistic.