Massa: “Good opportunities for my future”

In past years the expression "another sunny day in Mokpo" was used in an ironic sense: the weather conditions, in fact, were certainly not excellent, not to mention definitely tending towards wet. Today, however, the start of the Korean Grand Prix weekend was accompanied by a very hot and sunny day, with the mountains and lake behind the paddock almost composing a postcard image. Felipe Massa's attitude was also sunny as always when he met with the media during the official FIA press conference this afternoon.

Inevitably, most of the questions revolved around the Brazilian driver's future and what he might do next year. “I've spoken to a few teams and there seem to be some good opportunities. But now I'm focused on the last races and we'll say something when the time is right,” said Felipe, before adding that he hasn't changed his mind about what kind of opportunity he would accept. “I'm quite optimistic about being able to find a good solution, but I want a car that gives me the chance to fight for good results, otherwise I'm not interested.”

As for the last six rounds of the 2013 World Championship, Felipe is ready to do his best. “At the moment I feel good and at ease with the single-seater, and this is why I have scored important points in the last races, just as it is going well in qualifying,” acknowledged the Ferrari driver. “I hope to continue like this, maybe to get better results and podiums for me and the team. It would be a nice way to end a long and beautiful time spent together." Asked about the words of Pat Fry and Nicholas Tombazis, according to whom the reasons behind Ferrari's drop in performance in the middle of the season are due to the change in tire construction and development on the car that has not always advanced in the right direction, the Brazilian driver outlined a more general picture of the difficulties encountered by the Scuderia. “Clearly, if you don't have a car capable of winning, then you're not doing a perfect job. There are many small things that didn't work as they should have, so I don't think you can single out one or two aspects, but you have to look at the car as a whole." The two technical figures of the Scuderia also stated that the remaining Friday sessions of this season will also be used to evaluate some components in view of 2014. What are Felipe's feelings in this regard, given that he will not be at the wheel of a Prancing Horse single-seater on next year? “I hope they give me everything they can test for next season,” replied the Brazilian driver with a big smile. “But to be honest, there won't be much to test, as next year's cars will be very different.”

Another topic on which Felipe and the other riders present at the conference were asked to express themselves was the calendar for next season, which currently has 22 races. “There are a lot of them and I'm not just worried about us riders, but it will also be tough for the team,” said the Brazilian. “I'm not against having more races, but thinking about it a little more we could have a nice calendar, so for example not having a Grand Prix in Japan, then going to Europe and returning to this part of the world again after two weeks for another race.”