Massa: Next week crucial for Ferrari
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E-mail Xinhua, March 10, 2013
Ferrari driver Felipe Massa says the next week will reveal if the Italian team's remodelled Formula 1 car will deliver success in 2013.
The season-opening Australian Grand Prix will be held at Melbourne's Albert Park circuit next Sunday (Mar. 17) and Massa says the lead-up to the race will provide an accurate gauge of the team's progress.
"The pre-season is full of tests but they are not always a reflection of results during the season," the Brazilian said during an event in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday.
"A team that doesn't do so well in testing can have a great championship.We have to be prepared. At the end of qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix we will have a better idea."
After scoring just 23 points in the first half of last season, Massa rallied with a series of impressive results to finish seventh in the drivers' standings with 122 points.
Ferrari have rewarded the 31-year-old with a one-year contract extension as the team strives for its first constructors' title since 2008.
Massa said he and teammate Fernando Alonso were more confident entering the new season than at the same time last year.
"We feel that the car is good, more stable and easier to drive," Massa said. "It's hard to say where we are compared to the others but the car has been well-constructed with all areas addressed.
"I think that overall we are going to be more competitive and that we have great potential to be vying for good results from the outset."
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