Thursday morning saw the commencement of the first day of testing for Scuderia Ferrari and ten of the other Formula 1 teams getting underway, all the outfits starting work in a test that will run until Sunday afternoon at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit, located in southern Spain.

Felipe Massa was at the wheel of the new F150, which by the end of the afternoon had become the F150th Italia in order to stave off a court-headed row with Ford over the rights to the name. The Brazilian driver’s programme of the opening day focused on finding the best set-up for the car, on increasing understanding of the Pirelli tyres’ behaviour, aerodynamic testing and starts. Despite endless red flags which were especially prevalent this afternoon, he was able to complete the planned programme, with any technical problems affecting the car.

Massa was pleased with what had been achieved as he stepped from the cockpit of his Ferrari F150th Italia at the end of the busy day’s testing. The Brazilian was able to do a lot of running, however slowing the progress of the programme however were interruptions caused by cars stopping out on track, especially in the afternoon. The time Massa set in the morning of 1.20.709 proved to be unbeatable, even in the second part of the day, when the track was clearly slower. His best time was in fact nearly seven tenths clear of rookie Sergio Perez in the Ferrari-powered Sauber. It meant Massa ended the day not just with the prize for the most laps – 101 completed, but also the best performance on the clock.

“I am pleased with today,” said Massa. “I was able to run continuously, without losing any valuable time. All those kilometres helped me get to know the car better and especially the tyres, an area where we were able to try different things to those we did in Valencia. The fastest time? It doesn’t mean anything, because we don’t know what trim the other drivers were running.”

Yesterday, the F150th Italian single-seater, along with all the others, carried a message of support for the injured Robert Kubica. “I am glad Robert is getting better: it was nice that we all had a note for him on our cars and again I wish all the very best,” said Massa. Testing continues at this circuit today (the second day of four), again with Massa on track for Ferrari.