On the third day of testing in Jerez, Felipe Massa managed to climb to the top of the timesheets, with a clear message to the rivals.
On Tuesday, the Brazilian driver, who will stay alongside Fernando Alonso for this year´s campaign, said that the new F138 was on a different planet, commenting on how different the feel and drive was, compared to the 2012 car. And the results didn´t fail to show.
Massa clocked a time at 1:17.879, more than a second faster than Nico Rosberg for Mercedes. And though no clear image can be made from testing, the new diffuser on the Ferrari might have a thing to do with the pace.
According to Massa, the new F138 doesn´t have the corner or traction issues the old car had, and said the 2013 was very different to handle, unlikelast year´s car. Ferrari had a slow start to the 2012 campaign, but will be looking to improve in 2013.
Ferrari seem to be better prepared than last year. However, other teams look competitive too. Many expect to be given a better indication of the true pace of the new cars in Barcelona. With nothing much changed, last year’s pecking order is expected to stay the same, with Red Bull Racing, McLaren and Ferrari the teams to beat…
Hello Romero.
Yes Ferrari does seem to have a better grasp of things this season, and I for once applaud the decision to have Massa do more testing
of the new car. It shows enormous maturity from Alonso and also that he completely trusts the work done by Massa.