Ferraris
Felipe Massa has set his sights on getting onto the top step of the podium this weekend in Turkey and the signs are promising that he might just manage it.
Felipe had a difficult start to the year in Australia and Malaysia, retiring from both events, but bounced back in style to win in Bahrain and then took the runners-up spot in Spain two weeks ago.
Now he is keen to get 'gold' once again and having won in Turkey in 2007 and 2006, he certainly knows what is needed to come out top at the Istanbul-based circuit, venue for the fifth and latest round in the 2008
FIA F1 World Championship.
"With no testing since the last race, I have enjoyed a quiet time at home, although as usual, I have had plenty of contact with the factory in Maranello and I have also been going through my daily training programme. Now it's time to head for Istanbul and the fifth round of the championship, at a circuit which is obviously a bit special for me," he noted.
"Why? Because, it was here in 2006 that I scored my first ever
Formula 1 victory and then I repeated myself last year, on both occasions starting from pole.
"You do not need to be a mind-reader to work out what is my target for this weekend then: I want to record a hat-trick of Turkish victories! It might be possible, but you can never be sure.
"At the last race, starting third on the grid, I was unable to win on a track where overtaking is very difficult.
"At the moment, I am enjoying a tough competition with Kimi [Raikkonen – my team-mate] and my second place in Spain was still a good result. But I will be trying everything to go one better this Sunday!"
Asked about the track, Felipe added, unsurprisingly, that he enjoys driving there and that it is quite simply 'fantastic'.
"Like my home circuit in Sao Paulo, the Istanbul Speed Park runs anti-clockwise and in many other ways it is a special circuit," he continued.
