Massa optimistic ahead of European GP

Felipe Massa was encouraged by the performance of his Ferrari at the Canadian GP and believes there are enough races left to challenge for the world title.

The Brazilian lost out on the points in Canada after colliding with Vitantonio Liuzzi of Force India and Mercedes’ Michael Schumacher, while team-mate Fernando Alonso fought for the win before finishing third.

Massa, 29, is expecting a new exhaust configuration ahead of the European Grand Prix, and hopes that it will further improve his chances of matching the pace of the Red Bulls and McLarens in Valencia on June 27.

“The car was much more competitive in Canada than in Turkey, which is a good basis on which to go to Valencia for the next race,” said Massa.

“The street circuit there is not so different in terms of its characteristics to the Montreal track and on top of that, we expect to have some more updates for the F10 (car) to make it even more competitive with those ahead of us in the championship.

“Valencia has not produced very exciting races so far, but I enjoy the track. The only time I have raced there was in 2008 — as it was one of the races I missed last year after my accident — and I won.

“It would be nice to think we could be in with a chance of doing the same again this time.

“With the unpredictable nature of this year’s championship anything can happen and I am sure we can be in the fight for the top places come Sunday in Spain.”