BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — Although he failed to finish the first two races of the season, Felipe Massa is confident that he will soon be back in the championship hunt. And he is not worried about losing his seat at Ferrari.
“It was very frustrating, but as the saying goes, that’s racing,” he said. “We saw that everyone can have a good day or a bad day, and I have started this season with things not going my way.
“But there are still 16 races and 160 points up for grabs. In the next few races, I plan to get back all the possible points I have lost in the two opening rounds of this season. In Malaysia, starting from the front row of the grid, we had the possibility to show what we could do.”
Massa had an engine problem in Australia. He spun out in Malaysia when, according to the team, the delicate aero balance under his car stalled after he hit a curb.
Some uninformed Web sites said that Sebastian Vettel will replace Massa in 2009.
“I have a three-year contract, so I am very comfortable in the team,” Massa said. “Everybody is happy with the team itself.”
While it’s true that Toro Rosso will lease its engines from Ferrari until at least 2009, Vettel has strong ties to Red Bull and he still has links with BMW as well.
Massa’s contract with Ferrari runs through 2010 and Kimi Raikkonen’s through 2009.
Yet, according to reports in Spain, Fernando Alonso could be in a Ferrari next year.
“It’s early to talk about moves and rumors, but Massa has had two bad races with mistakes and that has kicked off speculation,” Alonso told the AS newspaper. “It’s logical, but as I said, it’s too early. I always try to be in the best car.
“I’m at Renault now because I wanted to go back to winning, like in 2005 and 2006. If not this year, then next year. But I have an option to leave so I can still be in the best possible car, and it is clear that Ferrari is one of the best.”