Felipe Massa met the media in the grandiose setting of the newest paddock on the calendar, which is reminiscent of the giant facility in Shanghai, although not quite as big. Could Ferrari come out on top this weekend was the first question put to the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro driver. “I think it is too early to say,” he responded. “We need to wait and see how we will get on tomorrow to have a clearer idea, especially as this is a new track which means things can either be exactly what you expected or the exact opposite. There are all types of corner, including those where we know our car works well and others of the type where we have suffered a bit in the past. The long straight means it will be important to have a good top speed and also very strong brakes for the slow corner following the straight. What I can say is that I like what I have seen, as there are so many interesting corners and changes of direction which is not always the case at other tracks. I reckon it will be nice to drive, however let’s hope everything goes well enough for us to be fighting at the front.”
There is no doubt that everyone is looking forward to Friday practice with more interest than usual, given this a new venue and Felipe explained the difficulties this poses for all the teams and drivers. “The track will be very dirty tomorrow and we need to see how the track surface reacts, but our car has gone well on so many different types of track, that I don’t see why it would not go well here too,” said the Brazilian. “Of course, I expect the Red Bulls who have been strong everywhere, to be strong here also. So for us it is important to do a good job and get a good understanding of the circuit to find the right direction to work in as quickly as possible. That does not mean we have to find the right set-up by tomorrow, because from tomorrow to the day after the track will change completely.” The Brazilian has done all he can to familiarise himself with the new track prior to actually driving it tomorrow. “I did a day in the simulator back in Italy and I also drove the track on the Playstation game and yesterday, I went round it for real on a bicycle, stopping at every corner to check out the kerbs, the asphalt, what the corner looked like, what gear we should use according to the simulator.”
And finally, the championship hopes for the Scuderia? “It will be difficult for us to fight for the title, but with three races remaining there are still a lot of points to be won and therefore we still have a chance.”
Source: Ferrari.com
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