Eurosport - Tue, 13 Jan 17:55:00 2009
Felipe Massa gave Ferrari's new Formula One car its track debut and said it felt entirely different to the one he drove to victory six times last year.
Formula One has made major changes for the coming season with new aerodynamic regulations and slick tyres brought in to boost overtaking.
New rules on weight distribution have been drawn up and the KERS system, which gives cars a limited power boost by recovering energy from the brakes, introduced.
"It really is a car which is totally different to what we were used to up to last year," the Brazilian said as the constructors' world champions became the first team to unveil their car.
"KERS and the aerodynamic changes mean the car is completely different to drive. This is just the beginning of a new cycle in Formula One and it will not be an easy experience."
Massa was runner-up last year to McLaren's 23-year-old Briton Lewis Hamilton, who won the driver's title by one point.
Massa had expected the first outing at Mugello to be tough but saw positive signs ahead of a proper test in Portimao, Portugal, later this month.
"This was the first day and we weren't looking to do 100 laps and good times given that they've changed the rules," he said. "Today there were small problems like on any first day but I'm happy with how it went.
"It will certainly be very different to drive this car...but you get more familiar and eventually it will be automatic. When changes are introduced it is always like that and at this stage we suffer, like last year with the lack of traction control.
"This is a situation where the driver is more important."
The 27-year-old had no regrets about last season and felt confident ahead of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on March 29.
"The mood inside the team is pretty good. There have been great changes and maybe it will change some of the ways we work.
I'm pretty happy with the work done by the team and I hope they'll continue to improve week after week," he said.
"During this holiday period I just put myself in a very normal frame of mind and tried to draw a lesson from last year. I'm not looking backwards, I'm always looking to the future."
Some observers have said the aerodynamic changes have made the new cars look ugly but Massa thought Ferrari's F60 was not too bad.
"I was positively impressed. I prefer to have an ugly car with very high performance levels," he said.
Comment 34 - 53 of 53
m.e.jenner - I do apologize too. it wasn't my intention to mock anyone. Just like you said - wrong choice of words.
And for the F60 car... Massa dislikes it only 'cause he has, once again, loads of hard work to do adjusting to it. [Ok, now this might sound like, and actually even be, mockery] Come on, he just figured out how to steer, and now KERS, adjustable wings,... and all that combined with reduced performance... It's hard to do so much when you're paid that little...
The decision to demote Lewis Hamilton to third place here yesterday will long be remembered as being farcical and disgraceful by all in motor racing. Lewis Hamilton had scored a sensational victory at Spa-Francorchamps - snatching victory from the jaws of defeat just when it seemed that Kimi Raikkonen was on course to emulate the great Jim Clark's feat of four victories in a row here after dominating the race. Then the race stewards adjudged Hamilton to have gained advantage by cutting a chicane and gave him a ridiculous retrospective 25-second penalty, which dropped him to third and rendered the race a joke.' -
The decision to demote Lewis Hamilton to third place here yesterday will long be remembered as being farcical and disgraceful by all in motor racing. Lewis Hamilton had scored a sensational victory at Spa-Francorchamps - snatching victory from the jaws of defeat just when it seemed that Kimi Raikkonen was on course to emulate the great Jim Clark's feat of four victories in a row here after dominating the race. Then the race stewards adjudged Hamilton to have gained advantage by cutting a chicane and gave him a ridiculous retrospective 25-second penalty, which dropped him to third and rendered the race a joke.' -
If you look at yesterday Headlines when this came out, you had two stories one above the other. NEW FERRARI EXCITES MASSA. and then directly above it MASSA CONTENT WITH F60 DÉBUT. Both stories with the same content but talk about slanted headlining !
paul t, article 45. whe is somebody going to tell you, hamilton shouldn't have had the chance to race, let alone get a win for the spying scandal, now they are at it again.
That's an apology by the way !
krophnosis - we have to be so careful with words don't we?? OK I get what you meant now - it's just that Damon is such a favourite of mine. He snuck into F1 almost as an afterthought and then within 4 years got the crown - and in MS's day as well !! I have so much respect for him as a driver and a man that I do tend to jump in if I think he's being mocked.
@m.e.jenner - No, no, no... don't get me wrong! Damon rocks. I was only trying to get into the stereotype thingie.
Afther all, he won the championship back then [and with my beloved Renault that was], and won it fighting hard. How could have that been boring? :]
Having read the article i got the feeling that Felipe was not totaly won over by the new car maybe all the other drivers will feel the same when they roll there cars out for the first time as i suspect they will all look pretty much the same as the Ferrari the teams all use CAD.
Setting aside the fringe lunatic comments, most people would seem to agree that the new regs will make the driver a more important component than in the last few years and that damage to the front wing is likely to be a big issue in 2009. Lastly, it seems to me that F1 is harking back to the 70's in terms of car design but that might be OK because there was some serious racing back then unlike the series of processions, largely determined at the qualifying stages that we have seen in recent years. This might be unlike the F1 of recent years in that it might actually be worth watching for the whole race rather than just the start and finish which is what I suspect many of us did in recent seasons.
To the Ron Dennis impersonator, please get it right, it was Alonso caught cheating.
Masser keeps banging on, about his six victories. When is somebody going to tell him, he only won 4, was given Hamilton's victory, and gifted a race win, for this brought and paid for stewards decision, not to penalised him a drive-through penalty, for that first, unsafe release, unlike the second one, when he was penalised, of course he was not winning that one.
HELL Y, no need to raise hell in this site. Do you have an occupation, other than posting on eurosport?
krophnosis - Damon - boring?? Oh, no, boring Brit - don't tweak the old bulldog's tail too many times old friend!
Massa can hail all he wants he still wont win he has not got it! End of!
And for the outcome of the race in Brasil...
Well don't you think that afther all that FIA gave to Ferrari all these years and races, it was about time that someone else gets 'free and undeserved points' ? It just had to be that way! Politics...
Schumacher got beat by Carl Edwards!
I don't like Michael Schumacher. There is nothing natural or spontanious about him or his driving. But...
It's not like Mosquito crushed an elephant...
This doesn't prove that all-left-turn racing produces drivers as good or better than true technical racers.
Schumacher also got beat by Sebastian Vettel [kid], by Alonso [spoiled brat], by Hill [mellow and boring brit]... and many others... so why not by nascar driver? :]
He [Schuey] was never that great. Only [hah, only...] his results were. And even those weren't completly his...
Massa is going to win this year and you know it!
If he himself can't manage to get to the top, FIA will help.
Kimi had one, Lewis had one... It's Felipe's turn now... Politics, not racing. Unfortunately...
I'm Renault supporter, so no Mclaren vs Ferrari flaming... :) Ferrari needs a good driver... No, wait, they have one. It;s Kimi. All they need to do is get rid of the bad one... Of course that Felipe's not bad driver, but what's with those... 'More difficult to drive...', 'Need to get used to...' ... All classic Massa talk...
Ferrari - go with Kimi, He's real driver! YOU made him stink last year :]
P.S. What are those dads doing there? Felipe and Lewis can't wipe their arses by themselves? Button's dad also likes visiting races, and is worried, but when did you see him project himself onto his son's life? :]
suman123r. You needed to say it 4 time to convince yourself.Write 100 times, Ferrari are not CR4P. It may become true.
" Not too bad" is hardly glowing praise.
Ha so Massa hailed the new car did he? What he said was "but Massa thought Ferrari's F60 was not too bad". I think he is overrating it. :-)
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