Question: Felipe, you felt that you could have finished third in the last grand prix. Is that the sort of progress you are expecting here?
Felipe Massa: I hope for sure. The last race we took a big step forward. We were very competitive during the race. I know we had a problem at the end of the race but at least with the pace point of view we took a big step forward. Here is a very different track compared to tracks we have had until now. So many things can be different here because of the lay-out of the track, so I think it is a little bit different for everybody. Sometimes you will see cars which are a little bit more competitive in one track but less in others. I hope our car can be as competitive as we were in the last race here as well. Also I hope we can have a very good race, start in a good shape and finish in a good shape. What happened in the last race was really a shame.
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Question: Is there less emphasis on the technical side here and is it more on the drivers?
Felipe Massa: Well, for sure it is a very technical track. The way you drive here is different than other tracks. Usually you need to anticipate the corners as you are getting to the corner and some corners you have understeer and some you have oversteer. The corners you have understeer you need to anticipate because if you are turning in the right place as if it was a normal corner maybe you lose a little bit of the apex, so you need to anticipate to get very close to the wall but not touch it. So it is different driving here. It is also very important as Sebastian said for the concentration. It is a huge factor in this race.
Question: You have had pole position here and two third places, so what chance of being on the podium again this year?
Felipe Massa: Well, I hope we can have a great race as we have had in the last two years. Especially last year it was really, really good. We had a fantastic car and fantastic pace here. I made pole position with two laps more fuel, so it was one of the best poles of my career. The race was a big lottery unfortunately but I think we were very strong. I hope we can be strong as well and having a car to fight.
Question: How important is a driver on this track? Can you say what the difference is for a driver with the other tracks and here?
Felipe Massa: Well, as I said it is a different track compared to the others. It is very technical. The concentration is very important. If you make a single mistake you can go to the wall. It doesn’t mean you cannot make mistakes on this track. But if you make a mistake you need to be very lucky, to be on the right place, so you can still recover. But for sure the margin is very small compared to the other tracks.
Question: Court in Paris rejected the Ferrari appeal and as you know it will have a very big effect on Formula One in the future. May I have your comments because I think it will also affect your personal future. Maybe you will have to change categories if your teams don’t decide to do Formula One next year.
Felipe Massa: It’s very difficult to comment. I think many things aren’t over yet. The way the championship has started has been very different compared to other years. We have had a lot of political fighting in many areas. I don’t think that has helped the sport, for sure. I think many people have been a little bit upset because of many of these fights. I don’t really know what to answer. It would be nice to have more sport and less politics, that’s what we’re here for. We are not here for political reasons, we are here for sport, to fight for positions. That’s the good thing about Formula One. I hope things are going to be OK. For sure, if we lose Ferrari, Formula One won’t be the same. People can say whatever they want but if you lose Ferrari, Formula One won’t be the same. You see many teams which are trying to get into Formula One next year but you can imagine that if you lose Ferrari and maybe you get GP2 teams it won’t be the same; with all respect, it won’t be the same. The only thing I hope is to have more sport and less politics. We are here to race, we are here to fight each other on the track, not outside.
Question: When Luca di Montezemolo threatened that Ferrari would leave Formula One, both you and Kimi put out a statement that you supported that. Do you also support the move to take the matter to court over next year’s rules and if you did support that could you explain why?
Felipe Massa: I think I said enough. Before, I’ve said enough about all these problems, so I don’t want to go into the details, so I support my team. I will support my team because I think Ferrari, to be honest, is not alone. Ferrari maybe took the lead but I don’t think it’s just Ferrari which thinks like that. I think it’s many other teams. Yeah, I support my team.
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