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Ferrari desperate for Monza lifeline
Felipe Massa may be only a distant outsider in the hunt for the drivers' title this season, but he knows that the pressure will be huge for his Ferrari team next weekend when they bid to rekindle their challenge for glory in their home Italian Grand Prix.
Two weeks after their dismal result at the Belgian Grand Prix where championship-chasing, double world champion Fernando Alonso crashed out pointlessly, the Monza showdown at the last European event this year may be Ferrari's last chance for revival.
Massa, who finished fourth at Spa-Francorchamps, admitted that his team now faces a battle in every race starting with its home one if it is to stay in contention.
"It will be a great event, racing in front of our tifosi," said Massa. "But, in reality, it will be a very important race, because after the less that satisfactory performance in Belgium, the championship is not looking so easy for us. Now, we know, we just have to keep on pushing for the last six races, trying to be back in the fight for wins or at least as many podiums as possible. For sure it won't be easy. You only have to look at the Belgian race to see how tough things are turning out to be now. I started sixth and finished fourth there, so I could say that I had a good race. However, in terms of the result and in terms of the championship and the points total for Ferrari, it was not enough."
Massa felt that the Italian team did well to extract something from the Belgian race because of the difficult conditions, but he was also realistic about its prospects with just half a dozen races to go.
"OK, in some ways, it was a positive performance, but it really wasn't what we hoped for or expected. In truth, in Spa, the car was not as competitive as it had been in the two previous races in Hungary and Germany," he said. "This was probably another example of how, this year, the situation in terms of which teams are competitive, has been governed by the nature of the track."
Monza, always an event fired by passion and atmosphere, will be a major test for Ferrari's power and speed in a scrap with McLaren, as both teams bid to overhaul Red Bull in the championship.
With six races to go, Red Bull leads with 330 points ahead of McLaren on 329 and Ferrari back in third on 250.
In the drivers' title race, Lewis Hamilton, after McLaren's victory in Belgium, has put himself back on top with 182 ahead of Mark Webber of Red Bull on 179. Sebastian Vettel, also of Red Bull is third with 151 ahead of defending champion Jenson Button of McLaren on 147 and Alonso on 141. Massa is sixth with 109.
