Massa: “I approve of the intelligent use of team orders”

After 10 years that the Chinese Grand Prix has been held at the Shanghai circuit, veteran Formula 1 journalists know that on Thursday they will have a busy day tackling that labyrinth of routes that leads to the various teams' hospitality areas, perched on stilts on an artificial lake inside the paddock. Everyone, however, found their way to the Scuderia Ferrari area for the usual pre-weekend chat with Felipe Massa.

The Brazilian driver was first presented with the following statistical data: if next Saturday afternoon he is faster than Alonso, he will be the first teammate of the Spanish driver capable of getting the better of Fernando five times in a row: "Honestly, there is no I never thought,” admitted a surprised Felipe. “All I can say is that I'm happy with my start to the season and I want to continue like this. It's not this statistic that satisfies me. What I like is going well and feeling comfortable in the car. These kinds of numbers only cause problems. I just want to continue doing good work."

Wisely, the Ferrari driver does not set himself any specific objectives for the third round of the World Championship: “Our aim for this weekend is the same as always, that is to work to continue improving the car, especially in qualifying. If we can do this and slightly faster than the others, then we can be competitive in qualifying and also in the race. The key factor is to work in the right direction throughout the championship.”

Finally, the inevitable question in the wake of what happened in Malaysia, namely the team orders involving Mercedes and, especially, Red Bull. “I approve of the intelligent use of team orders, and by this I am referring to those decisions taken at key moments of the season, not in the second race of the World Championship,” explained Felipe. “They have to be done with the good of the team in mind. I helped drivers a lot, for example Kimi when he won the title with Ferrari. And also last year with Fernando, when he was fighting for the World Championship. I have no problem with team orders that meet those criteria."