Massa will be a surprise, says Ferrari

Brazilian Felipe Massa will be 'the surprise of the 2010 Formula One season', according to Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo.

Massa retired after a collision on the first lap in Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix and is now mathematically out of the championship reckoning, 92 points adrift of Red Bull's Mark Webber.

His Spanish team mate Fernando Alonso, a double champion with Renault, is second overall and just 14 points behind the Australian. Massa will be expected to help him win the title.

"We knew that in this race Red Bull was practically impossible to beat but we brought home the best possible result with Fernando, who remains firmly in the title battle," Montezemolo told the Ferrari web site. "The team has worked well, with commitment and concentration. I'm sorry for Felipe, who was certainly not lucky this weekend: I'm sure that he will be the surprise of the last three races of the season. After this bad day he will be desperately keen to react and we will do everything to give him the possibility to win."

Massa, who was at the centre of a 'team orders' furore in July when he was told to let Alonso past to win the German Grand Prix, collided with Force India's Italian Vitantonio Liuzzi in what stewards at Suzuka later decided had been a racing incident.

The Brazilian made his frustration clear afterwards, with his retirement following a difficult Singapore Grand Prix where he finished eighth after problems in qualifying left him at the back of the grid.

"We still have three races, we don't know what is going to happen in Korea which is a completely new track. Many things can happen," he said. "I am a driver, I always drive for the best position. I know I cannot fight for the championship but anyway I will try my best."