Felipe Massa has rejected speculation that Ferrari, on home turf at Monza, looks set for a heavy defeat at the hands of its championship rival McLaren this weekend.
The Brazilian and his Finnish teammate Kimi Raikkonen respectively forged a dominant one-two in Turkey two weeks ago, as the Italian team works to close the drivers’ and constructors’ championship deficits to its silver-coloured competitor.
But at the pre-Italian grand prix test at the high speed Monza circuit last week, McLaren turned in a dominant display to head the timesheets on all four days.
In a report on Wednesday of the news agency AP, however, 26-year-old Massa insisted: “We are a lot stronger than it looks, that’s for sure.
“In testing, I’ve often lacked the conditions to run at my best.”
He was also quoted by La Gazzetta dello Sport as saying: “The possibility to win both titles still exists, but it will not be easy. We will try to succeed at Monza.
“The possibility of another one-two, like in Turkey, is also there, but it is never easy. McLaren is very strong but we are working hard and we hope to beat them.
“The tests at Monza went well enough; we will be competitive, how much so we will only know on Saturday and Sunday.”
Raikkonen also declined to predict the outcome of Ferrari’s home race, but he similarly did not write off the Maranello based team’s chances.
“I think you can say that we have a fierce fight ahead of us,” the 27-year-old said.
“Traditionally Ferrari has been very competitive here, but also McLaren has been very strong.”
