CHINA GP: Massa Interview Thursday Oct 16

(from autosport)

Felipe Massa arrives in China with the aim of closing in on Lewis Hamilton, who could clinch the title this weekend if things go right for him.

The Ferrari driver says, however, that he is approaching the weekend as normal and claims he is not feeling any added pressure.

Massa spoke to reporters at Shanghai on Thursday and autosport.com was there.

Q. At this stage of the championship there is a lot of pressure on you. How do you cope with that, and in what ways can other people help you cope with it?

Felipe Massa: I think the pressure you have all the time. When you become a Ferrari driver you have pressure at the beginning of the season, the middle of the season and the end of the season. It doesn't matter the position you are. You have a pressure but it is a different pressure, but you have always the pressure on your side. I think you learn so much how to cope with the pressure and how to think doing your job. It doesn't matter what you have around you.

I feel quite good, I feel in the position to do my job in the best way we can and hopefully we do it in the right way. Hopefully we can achieve what we want, and that is the way I think in this moment. It was the way I was thinking in the last race, all the races before and I think in the same way for the next race as well.

Q. But is the pressure not different at this stage of the championship when one race can make a huge difference to if you win or lose?

FM: For sure you feel that you are in a different position - that maybe the pressure you have now is a bit different from the pressure if you are doing a bad job or if you don't score points for two races like I did in the first two races! But I think it is always the same thing. The pressure is always the same for results. And that doesn't matter if you are first or last in the championship.

Q. Who is it more difficult for at the moment – you because you are chasing or Lewis because he is leading?

FM: I think both. I would prefer to be leading but I am not, so I think we both have the pressure, we both have the difficult time to think about how the race is going to be – and what you need to do to succeed in the race. It doesn't matter if you are fighting for the points, or if you are fighting to keep the points. I think both are quite difficult.

Q. What is the expectation from here? Do you expect Kimi (Raikkonen) to support you 100 percent, and did you already think about the strategy?

FM: No, I think it is too early to think about the strategy. For sure I expect Kimi to be in good shape, which is very good for the fight for the championship. I think we both have a good car, which helps. So I think that is the only way that I am thinking now. To try to be very competitive – Kimi as well. And if we are in the front then things can be much better.

Q. Last weekend you were on either side of a penalty. You got a penalty and Bourdais was penalised against you. Do you think there are too many penalties?

FM: Not just this time. We have so many penalties during the year. We had penalties last year, so I am not the right guy to say.

Q. But as a driver do the penalties annoy you?

FM: Sometimes yes, sometimes not. We have had so many different things this season. Some I think were right and some were not.

Q. There has been a lot of criticism of Lewis Hamilton and his driving style – that he is too aggressive with his attitude. Does that help you going into the final two races?

FM: No. I think it doesn't change anything. Sometimes we saw many times that aggressive style helps a lot. And we saw many times what aggressive style does not help. So, I had some races this season where I was very, very aggressive and I had a good result at the end of the day. And Lewis as well.

Then there were some races where I was not aggressive but it was the right thing to do in that moment. That is the way I think and I think having an aggressive style or not, it doesn't change anything. It can maybe be good or bad for the end of the race. You never know before.

Q. Robert Kubica was quoted recently as saying that Lewis was overly aggressive and over-confident at times. Would you agree?

FM: Well, that is Lewis. That is his personality. To be aggressive and to always (be) over confident. That is true. That is his personality. It doesn't mean that he cannot be good, cannot be competitive or cannot be strong because of that. Everybody knows that he is very strong and these things, many races, made him a lot of points. That is why it doesn't change anything.

Q. A lot of drivers are supporting you at the moment when they have been asked. Does that make you a little bit proud?

FM: Yes, for sure. I always respect other drivers, and I always respect everyone who is racing against me. I think that is the way I am. That is the way I do my job. I think when you are in F1 you can never underestimate your competitors because everyone knows what they are doing, everybody is very strong and everyone won everything before coming to F1. So, that is why I think respect is the most important thing for the other drivers.

Q. This is the first time that you are really competing for the championship. The deciding race could be in Brazil. What are you feelings about that?

FM: For the moment I have no feelings. I prefer to put all my feelings on this race, because this race is very important now. If we can get maybe more points and if we can recover a little bit more the championship it will be even better for the last race. But I think looking to the last race, if you are in a great position I think it will be very nice to fight for the championship in my home race. I think, for me, for the Brazilians, it is definitely a great feeling. Hopefully we can arrive in the position to really fight for the championship with a good possibility to win.

Q. Ferrari are also a family for you. Can you give us an idea how your family is supporting you now?

FM: One hundred percent, like I am supporting them 100 percent. I love the team and we work together in a very nice way, so I think we have great people and I am together with the team since I was in F3000. I think it is a very special team for me, because if I am in this position now, then I am there thanks to Ferrari because they gave me the opportunities to race in Sauber, to be a Ferrari test driver and then to get my opportunity to be an official driver in Ferrari. So I have a big respect. For sure it is always important to go back and know your career before, because you always learn with that.

Q. Between you and Lewis for the title, does it come down to who is mentally stronger? Physically you cannot do any more, you cannot improve the car any more, so does it come down to mental strength at the end of the day?

FM: With the car you can always do some more, because sometimes you car fits a little bit better to one track compared to the other one. You never know, you come here, you have exactly the same car as the last race where you were very strong, but here maybe the other car is a little bit stronger than yours. And you have no idea how to explain that. Maybe it is just the track and layout and everything. That is why we need to wait and see. But for sure the mental preparation you do is very important at the end of the championship.

Q. Flavio Briatore has said that five points in a situation like this is almost nothing. What is the percentage chance of you winning the world championship? 50/50?

FM: No, for sure a bit less. Because we are five points behind, so you cannot put us in exactly the same position as your opponent. For sure, it can be almost nothing – but almost is not enough in F1. You need to be precise. For sure it is not a big difference. We saw in Singapore that I had a problem and could not score points and Lewis finished third, and the difference of one point went very quickly to seven points. So it can be the other way around as well. That is why it is a small difference, but we need to try and be in front of him.

Q. With the stewards appearing so keen to hand down penalties for indiscretions, are you clear in your head what is and isn't allowed when it comes to racing?

FM: Yeah sure. I am clear in my mind. I am just trying to do the best I can inside the rules.

Q. You have your family here. How important is it to have them here in this situation?

FM: I think my family supports me 100 percent, in every time of my career. I think having people which you like, who are supporting you 100 percent who are my family my father, my mother and my wife. I think it is always very nice to sleep well during the evening, and thinking to do the job in the best way you can. Everyone is here, so hopefully we can have another boost on that.

Q. Are they too nervous?

FM: No. Maybe a little bit, but I think they are just here to support me. People outside always feel more than what you feel inside. I remember when I watch a race of my brother's, I was so nervous – and I never felt that inside the car. So I think outside is much more difficult.