Felipe Massa: “Tests are always important”

Felipe Massa would have preferred that, before establishing the few days of in-season testing, teams and riders had been consulted by the Federation. Mainly for a purely question monetary, the track tests during the World Championship were identified after the Spanish and Austrian Grand Prix, where the teams, in the days following the race, will be able to take to the track for just 48 hours in the hope of testing some updates that could then prove to be of vital importance throughout the season.

“Tests are always important because they allow you to understand how maximize potential of the car – commented the Williams driver to his colleagues at UOL Esporte – However, personally, these two days of testing in Barcelona were a wasted opportunity because we have just raced on this track and the next two Grand Prix will take place on circuits that have nothing to do with the Montmelò track, it is difficult to find solutions for the next races. However, I understand the need to test after a Grand Prix: there are some teams that can afford to travel and go and do tests on a track while for others, for a question of costs it would be unthinkable".

Despite the team's budget, which showed Williams in a clear decline in 2014, it is curious to note how Massa himself, however, underlined that the Grove team would find itself in the position of those who could afford private tests: "For the Williams, perhaps, it would be more interesting to do tests somewhere else but we have to understand and stick to the current situation,” he concluded.

Eleonora Ottonello
@lapisinha