Massa: “Fundamental strategy for Ferrari in Monaco”

Only a few steps for Felipe Massa, from his Monegasque home to the Formula 1 circuit, where today he met journalists in the Ferrari Motorhome available to the media.

“I think it could be an exciting race this weekend, because we have seen the effects that the tires have had on the races of the season so far,” began the Brazilian, who considers this to be his second home race of the year. after the one in Brazil. “Strategy will be really important and we can expect different possibilities in terms of race strategies compared to what we are used to seeing in the past. However, given the difficulty of overtaking on this circuit, and considering that the point where we are allowed to use DRS is not the easiest on the track, I do not expect this system to have a decisive effect as it happens in other tracks. Tire wear could prove to be a significant factor in overtaking."

At the Catalan circuit on Sunday, Felipe, like many others, struggled to get his car to run properly on hard tyres, so the fact that Pirelli are bringing two different types of tire is cause for optimism. “I hope this weekend is a better one than the last race,” said the Brazilian. “Not having to deal with hard tires will allow us to compete at a high level from the start to the end of the race. I think using softer tires can help us in qualifying, so overall I expect a better Grand Prix than the one in Barcelona and many others.

It will be interesting to see the effects of the soft and supersoft tyres, because the very soft tires will definitely be faster and here in Monaco it is really very important to start in a position as far forward on the starting grid as possible, so we will definitely see more of the particular strategies for the qualification rather than a focus on preserving new tires for the race. But if you then have to start the race with these tyres, which won't last long, you will have to make a very quick change to then get out of traffic. I think we will see very different strategies in play and I hope that we will be the ones to adopt the best one."

Finally, the Brazilian was also asked about yesterday's news which saw Aldo Costa abandon his role as technical director of the Scuderia. “The change in the organizational structure is what the team believes is the direction to go, and I trust the team,” he said. “I believe this will help us find the right direction, but this change alone does not mean we will have a new car straight away. Part of the effects of the change will only be seen in the future. We still have the same people working in all departments, so I believe this will not destabilize the team."