Felipe Massa insists he was “as fast, if not faster” than Fernando Alonso in qualifying trim this year.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, the Brazilian scored less than half the points of his high-profile teammate, and finally lost his Ferrari race seat.<\/p>\n
Massa will drive for Williams in 2014.<\/p>\n
“I know they are going through a tough phase,” he is quoted by Finland’s Turun Sanomat newspaper, “but I think that with the changes they’re making, they can go back to what they were doing a few years ago.<\/p>\n
“I want to be a part of that process (at Williams),” said the 32-year-old.<\/p>\n
“The Mercedes engine should be very competitive, so I think we will have a good package at our disposal to fight for points on a regular basis and move steadily closer to the top.”<\/p>\n
But Ferrari justified Massa’s exit on the basis that he was not able to support Alonso’s quest for the world championship on a consistent enough basis.<\/p>\n
Massa, however, thinks he stacked up well against the Spaniard in 2013.<\/p>\n
“Of course, Fernando is a very strong racing driver,” he admitted, “especially in the first few rounds of the championship.<\/p>\n
“Qualifying has not been as important to the championship as it has been, but I was at least as fast, if not faster, than Alonso,” Massa claimed.<\/p>\n
“But with the other factors – the strategy, traffic, pitstops and all of those things – I really was not very lucky.<\/p>\n
“And when Fernando is going for the championship, and I am not, then he had the advantage for strategy and it affects your ability to drive for the top positions,” he added.<\/p>\n
Interestingly, Massa named having to give up the win at Hockenheim in 2010 as the lowest point in his eight-year Ferrari tenure.<\/p>\n
“I got a team order and had to obey it,” he said.\u00a0 “It was very bad from both a professional and a personal point of view.<\/p>\n
“Of course, my accident in Hungary in 2009 was a very negative event, because I could have died.<\/p>\n
“But I don’t remember when I hit the part from Rubens Barrichello’s car.\u00a0 I know what happened and of course I remember taking a long time to recover, but I don’t remember the accident.<\/p>\n
“So, it doesn’t hurt me as much as the memory of what happened in Hockenheim.”<\/p>\n
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