Massa plays down stance against new F1 teams

Felipe Massa on Sunday played down reports that quoted him as saying F1’s influx of three new small teams is “not good for the sport”.

After Ferrari recently bitterly attacked the entrance of its struggling new competitors Virgin, Lotus and Campos, 28-year-old Massa appeared to be on message when his employer published a translation of an interview with Corriere della Sera.

“It’s not good for the sport and not good for them: it’s like two different series,” he told the Italian newspaper, according to Ferrari’s official website.

During a Santander sponsor event at Interlagos on Sunday, however, Massa said he is not opposed to F1 boasting a full grid of teams.

“I read the stories in the press that I spoke badly about the new teams,” he is quoted as saying by Brazil’s Globo.

“I didn’t do that, I just said the (lap) time difference (to the established teams) is too big.

“It cannot be good for anyone if a car is three seconds slower: not for the sport, for the people who watch, or for the teams themselves.

“But I am in favour of new teams coming in, because the more cars racing the better,” said Massa, who drove a 2008 Ferrari fitted with demonstration tyres around the Interlagos circuit in his native Sao Paulo.

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