Massa: “I hope my 2012 championship starts in Monaco”

It was a more relaxed paddock than usual that hosted the pre-free practice press conference in Monaco within the Ferrari media unit. After two years of having to rush from Barcelona to organize work in the smallest paddock of the entire calendar, this year the teams were able to calmly prepare all their race structures, as happened in Spain, and the Monaco GP returns to show up after a fortnight.

For Felipe Massa, going to work today required a very short commute from his apartment. “I hope that this weekend can be considered the starting point of my 2012 championship,” said the Brazilian when asked about the difficulties encountered in the opening five races.

“Especially since I really consider this to be my second home race, given that I live here most of the year. So, I hope this weekend goes better than the previous races. This is a different race to almost all the others, except Singapore, which is a bit similar, and so I hope this can be a new start for me. I have experienced some difficult moments in my career and perhaps the start of this season has been the most difficult so far. So, we need to get out of this situation and get back in the right direction - that's what I'm focusing on. I had to deal with the technical aspect of the problem which then also generates a mental one, as it is not easy to deal with this situation. However, if the first is solved, then it is easier to solve the other too."

Regarding the request for an overview of the season and the question of whether one team is favored over the others, the Brazilian Ferrari driver admitted that he still does not have a clear picture of the situation.

“Normally the best cars are in the lead but, at the moment, it is difficult to be sure exactly which ones are the strongest. At the moment, it is difficult to say which car is capable of scoring the most points in the race. This is because you can expect the situation to change often from one track to another, as we have seen that cars that should have been strong this year on some tracks have not lived up to expectations. Usually, after a couple of races, a championship starts to take shape and you can understand which direction it is going. But this year it is much more difficult to have a clear picture."

As for this weekend, Felipe was equally cautious in assessing expectations regarding the F2012: “If we take it for granted that two of the weak points of the F2012 – despite the improvements made – are traction and top speed, then at least the speed maximum is not a problem on this slow street circuit, a factor that can help us,” he declared. “As usual, we have to wait and see what happens during the tests before we understand the situation.”