Confident of title race, says Massa

Ferrari driver confident of finding success this season.

Ferrari driver Felipe Massa may not have had a spectacular start to the 2013 season, but he still sees himself as a solid contender for the championship title, according to ESPNF1.

Massa has continued his progression from last year, moving past teammate Fernando Alonso in both the rounds, but he had managed to take a hold of only fifth and fourth-place finishes due to some difficulties during the races.

Even though his last victory was in 2008, he believes this season will bring him more wins and a shot at the title if his team continues to move forward.

“We need to be confident and I am very confident,” said Massa. “We need to keep our feet on the ground, but we know there has been a great deal of work from last year to this year in the car. There is a lot to do, there is a lot to make this car better and better and make the evolution right on this car and make this car more competitive. I think if we carry on in this direction the chance of winning races and to fight for the championship is there.”

Meanwhile, team principal Stefano Domenicali believed it was too early to tell where Ferrari stood in terms of its competitors, but stated that they would be in the race for the title by the end of the year.

“I don’t know exactly where [we stack up], but for sure we are within the leaders,” said Domenicali. “There are tracks where our car will perform better and there are some other tracks where other cars will perform better than ours.

“For sure, Red Bull is maybe still the strongest at the moment but we will see. Mercedes are there and Lotus are very competitive too. It will be an interesting and challenging season, but we will be there no doubt.”

Published in The Express Tribune, March 28^th, 2013.