(from autosport) Massa Interview: Felipe Massa has downplayed talk that Ferrari are hot favourites to win the French Grand Prix, as he reckons McLaren and BMW Sauber will be a big threat. The Italian squad have dominated the race at Magny-Cours, with seven victories in the last ten races. Rivals McLaren have only won once, in 2000, at the French circuit. Last year, Ferrari scored a one-two victory and arrive in France having shown strong form in the previous races. But Massa reckons McLaren and BMW cannot be ruled out, although the Brazilian is optimistic his team will be very competitive. "In recent years, people would say that Canada and Monaco suited McLaren better than Ferrari, while it was the other way round in France and Britain, but I don't think that is really the case this year, as apart from any other factors, we have to consider the BMW team in this equation," said Massa. "This year in Monaco, Ferrari had the whole front row of the grid, even though I think we had more fuel than McLaren and in Canada our race pace was very good too. In other races we have all been very close. But I hope we will be very competitive this weekend. "I like Magny-Cours: I came second here last year, having started from pole, but then I lost a bit of time in traffic and I also came third in 2006. It's a good track for me. Let's hope we can repeat last year's one-two finish, but maybe in a different order."
(from autosport) World champion Kimi Raikkonen is out to quench his "lust for winning" at this weekend's French Grand Prix, which he hopes will mark a return to form. The Finn has failed to finish the last two races in the points, dropping from first to fourth in the championship standings, seven points behind BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica. The Ferrari driver reckons he had never been so hungry to win again, as he aims to put the disappointment of the last races behind him. "I don't remember when I had such a great lust for winning," said Raikkonen. "The team had prepared a car, which was able to be strong on all the tracks, but it didn't go well during the last races. "I don't like looking back and think about what happened at the last race. I don't carry bad thoughts with me, because that would just make me lose time, as you can't change the result anyway. "It's much better to concentrate on the upcoming GP and try to get the best result possible." Raikkonen, winner of the French Grand Prix last season, believes Ferrari will be very competitive again at the French track. "I think that things will look really different at Magny-Cours, compared to the last GPs," he added. "It was here in France last year that my season practically started all over again; and this is what I need now, after the two races with no points. "I like this track and I think that it's perfect for our car. I think we'll be competitive and that we can go for the maximum result."
