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"That was a fantastic weekend and like I
said at the time, it was also a perfect
weekend, with pole, the win and fastest lap
and honestly, I didn't have a single problem
all weekend," says European Grand Prix
winner Felipe Massa. |
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"That was a
fantastic weekend and like I said at the time, it was
also a perfect weekend, with pole, the win and fastest
lap and honestly, I didn't have a single problem all
weekend," says European Grand Prix winner Felipe Massa.
"Everything worked very well right from the start of
first practice on Friday. This was partly down to the
work we did before the even with our simulation
programme. But these things are never one hundred
percent accurate and there are several elements that you
cannot learn much about until you actually get to the
track, such as the condition of the track surface and
how much and how quickly the asphalt will improve. But
in terms of simply learning the track, the simulation
does help and it is an important tool. It meant we had a
good idea of what to expect when we began driving.
"As for the circuit itself, it actually looked much
better on paper than in real life! On paper it seemed
really interesting, but the race itself did not provide
as much overtaking as we had maybe expected. However,
leaving aside racing, the actual driving on this track
was fun and it is better than many other tracks, that's
for sure. Before we went there, there was a lot of talk
about the high potential for accidents and the possible
intervention of the Safety Car, but it didn't happen. I
think the track was better than expected in this
respect. Personally I was glad there were no
neutralisation periods in the race, as my strategy had
not been based on the possible arrival of the Safety
Car. This time I chose a fairly aggressive race strategy
as I had a very competitive car. When you choose a very
aggressive strategy and you're not sure if you're going
to start from pole position, it is always a potentially
difficult situation as your strategy could work against
you if you do not meet your qualifying target. When you
know you have a quick car, you really have to do all you
can to get pole as it is the best possible way to go
into the race.
"After Kimi's engine failed, it was disappointing of
course, but I was not too concerned for my own engine.
Kimi's failure involved a part in the engine that had
failed on my engine in Budapest and while the team felt
it was the better risk to leave Kimi's engine after the
Hungarian GP, rather than give him a big grid penalty on
a tight track, mine of course had to be changed. Now the
batch of "cursed" con-rods is no longer being used and
we have instigated very close controls on the parts we
are using. I hope the problem has gone away for both of
us.
"My win in Valencia moves me ahead of Kimi into second
place in the championship. I've been asked by some media
if I feel Ferrari should favour me for the title now
there are just six races remaining: all I can say to
this is that I want to keep winning, to keep beating not
just my team-mate but the others too. Decisions like
this are nothing to do with me. I just do the best job
possible for the team and leave the rest to the team
management.
"On Sunday night, I stayed in Valencia and celebrated my
win with my family and some friends and got home to
Monaco on the Monday. But already on Tuesday afternoon,
I drove off to the Monza circuit where I am today in the
cockpit of my F2008 for two days of testing, before the
Belgian Grand Prix. Life is going to be very busy and
exciting over the next few weeks."
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