Felipe Massa Jerez test notes day four

More than 700 kilometres for Massa in Jerez

Jerez de la Frontera, 13 February 2010 -- Again many kilometres for the F10 on the fourth day of testing at the Circuito Permanente de Velocidad" in Jerez in Andalusia. After a start on wet tarmac already in the late morning the situation improved and the ten drivers present at the track could finally use the slicks.

Today it was again Felipe Massa behind the wheel to push ahead the F10's development. The Brazilian driver from the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro started working on the car's behaviour on the wet, followed by an endurance test on the dry, which was positively concluded before the lunch break. In the afternoon Felipe dedicated himself to comparing the three different types of slicks the teams have at their disposal here in Jerez. In the end Felipe drove 160 laps, the fastest in a time of 1.21.485, the seventh fastest time of the day, almost two seconds slower than the 1.19.684 driven by McLaren's Hamilton, although it's questionable how valid these lap times here at the tests are.

Again the F10 confirmed its overall reliability: over 700 kilometres on one day and the only inconveniences, apart from some exits into the gravel without any consequences, were the typical problems during the initial development phase of a new single-seater.

"We've never driven 700 kilometres in just one day," Felipe said at the end of the day. "Physically I feel well, I actually thought that I might be more tired than I am. I'm pleased by the work we've done today, because we could test the car under all conditions. I'm happy for myself and the team: we concluded the foreseen programme and there is lots of data to analyse over the upcoming days, so we can prepare ourselves the best possible way for the next test session, without any particular problems. The only stop I had doesn't worry me at all, because we know what caused it. I think we're heading in the right direction, but we're aware of the fact that there's still lots of work ahead of us."

Naturally Felipe was asked if after a week of tests he feels as if he could win the title: "For sure we can say that we've got a reliable car, but it's much too early for the rest, although I really hope so. The one who does the best work, day after day on the track and at home, wins the title. I'm not the most important thing here. What counts is that we know that we've got a fast and constant car."

Someone wanted to talk about the article published in a Spanish magazine some days ago, asking Felipe what he thinks about the ongoing discussion: "Look, I can only say that Fernando and I had a laugh! Let's not loose time with these things."

-source: ferrari