Ferrari, Domenicali: “Massa knows what he has to do”

Felipe Massa 'knows what he has to do' to have a chance of saving his place at Ferrari for 2013, according to team boss Stefano Domenicali.

According to what was reported by Autosport, the Brazilian driver would still have the opportunity to remain at Ferrari for an eighth season, despite the disappointing results that took him away from the podium since the 2010 German Grand Prix.

Massa is currently 139 points behind championship leader and teammate Fernando Alonso.

Despite Alonso being 40 points ahead of his rivals in the hunt for the drivers' title, Ferrari is only fourth in the constructors' championship, 57 points behind the championship-leading team, Red Bull – according to Domenicali this is a key moment for Massa to revive his fortunes.

“I think Felipe knows what he has to do,” Domenicali said.

“He needs to maximize performance because we need his skills behind the wheel. We need points to try to attack first place in the constructors' championship, and also to take points away from the other drivers in the drivers' championship.”

“He knows that he has some very important races ahead of him for him as a driver and also as a member of the Ferrari team.”

Domenicali added that Ferrari is trying to help Massa by providing him with a faster car.

“We need to improve the car and I'm sure we can do a good job,” he said.

The situation of Ferrari's second driver for 2013 remains unclear. The team held talks with Mark Webber before re-signing for Red Bull, and the possibility of a promotion for his protégé Sergio Perez appears to be over at the moment.

Domenicali said Ferrari does not feel pressured about the driver pairing for 2013.

“There's no rush,” he insisted.