The Brazilian, who despite being upgraded to sixth on the grid by the demotion of the Toyotas, is these days unaccustomed to mid-pack tussles. However, he expects there to be accidents and unreliability issues for other teams tomorrow.
”The first round of the season here in Australia is always a step into the unknown, especially as the track is slippery and accidents are a strong possibility. We will try to get to the finish and to pick up as many points as possible,” said last year’s world championship runner-up.
Team principal Stefano Domenicali echoed Massa’s sentiments, but added that he was disappointed by the performance of the car today.
”[Today] we did not live up to our potential. We have to work out why that happened and at the same time, prepare as well as possible for a race that is bound to be very difficult and uncertain.”
Meanwhile Kimi Raikkonen in the other Friday admitted that a hydraulic problem had cost him his morning practice session.
‘This morning, a hydraulic problem meant I pretty much missed out on the third free practice session: a shame, but better that this should happen on Saturday than Sunday. The car was far from ideal for qualifying but I think we are in pretty good shape for the race,” said the Finn, optimistically.