Massa: Red Bull’s troubles are "positive"
Felipe Massa reflected on Red Bull's troubles and doesn't show much compassion; in fact, he even welcomes them. He also talks about his trials and the work he still needs to do.
The first winter tests of the Formula 1 season were mainly marked by the setbacks experienced by teams powered by the Renault hybrid engine, as they were unable to complete more than 80 laps over four days at the Jerez circuit. Among them, Red Bull, the four-time reigning champion, had a particularly catastrophic first testing session, never able to test the capabilities of the RB10. This situation does not seem to faze Felipe Massa, the Brazilian driver for Williams.
« I would be worried [in their place]. But at least they have some problems this year and are not two seconds per lap faster as they were in some places last year! They have troubles, and if you don’t see the Red Bull winning all the time, it can be very positive for everyone, » he stated to ESPN F1.
Leader of the time sheet at the end of the last day of the Jerez tests, the Paulista considers it a positive result, although he does not attach much importance to it: « Being first is always great. It’s been a long time since I finished a test first, but it’s only the first test and there are many cars missing, so it’s not enough. It’s always good and always positive to do more laps than we have been able to do, but there are always other teams that run more than we do. »
The Williams driver believes that the constructors are advantaged at the dawn of this technological change: « There are also teams that were a bit more prepared than us. Mercedes is a constructor so they were ready and they knew before us, Ferrari too. We changed the engine and many people, so making the car all at once is not simple. »
From the height of his experience, Felipe Massa nevertheless finds himself needing to relearn a way of driving. The brakes work differently. They are electronic brakes […] I still need to greatly improve my braking technique because it’s different and a bit strange at the same time. I always need to understand the engine; there’s a lot of wheel spin and much less aerodynamic downforce than last year. The engine is powerful, but with less downforce, it makes it difficult to drive, and it’s important to understand how to use the gear ratios and the engine. Obviously, there are a lot of things to improve.
