Felipe Massa has insisted he is not concerned by
McLaren's apparent improvement in pace during the most recent Barcelona test, where the sport's ‘big two' teams went up against each other for the first time in almost a month.
Rival drivers who have run alongside both outfits had claimed the scarlet machines held a substantial early advantage, but around the Circuit de Catalunya last week it was the two silver arrows who held sway, with
Heikki Kovalainen and test driver Pedro de la Rosa both outpacing the dual
Ferrari challenge of Massa and Luca Badoer. The Brazilian was adamant, though, that not too much should be read into testing performances.
“If we are talking about the [lap] times, there is nothing to comment on,” Massa is quoted as having told Italian newspaper
La Stampa. “We completed our programme the way we wanted to. In the end, times are important, but they are not the only important thing.
“We were behind by a few fractions, but we know there are areas for improvement and we must continue to work. We must not stop.”
The 25-year-old was also keen to stress, however, that heading into the season-opening Australian Grand Prix as favourite did not put the
Scuderia under any extra pressure to win.
“This does not create any additional pressure,” he underlined, “because also last year we were always fast.”
