Massa wants greater reliability from Ferrari

| Thu, 08/07/2008 - 03:18

Ferrari has to resolve it reliability issues if it wants to retain its Formula 1 constructors' and drivers' titles, Felipe Massa said on Wednesday.
Speaking three days after he was forced to drop out of the Hungarian Grand Prix three laps from the end of what may have been his best performance ever, the Brazilian driver was emphatic that ''we can't repeat certain mistakes: we don't have any more excuses''.
Looking back at Sunday's race, Massa said ''it was one of the best races I ever had in Formula 1, but it didn't end the way it should have, with a win''.
''This was a shame because I really think the team and I deserved a victory: we had a perfect race at a very important moment of the Championship,'' he added.
''Unfortunately we couldn't bring home the ten points we already had in our pocket and this was really frustrating. But that's the way it goes in racing sometimes,'' Massa wrote on his blog posted on the Ferrari website.
Massa in Budapest unexpectedly broke down less than 13km from the finish after leading the whole race thanks to a spectacular start from the second row.
Had he won he would have found himself at the top of the drivers' standings because of tire problems leader Lewis Hamilton had with his McLaren, but he is now third, overtaken by his teammate and reigning world champion Kimi Raikkonen.
''When the engine failed I had a strange feeling. It was like a nightmare and I wanted to wake up, but I couldn't, because I was already awake!,'' Massa recalled.
Despite his bad luck on Sunday, Massa said he remained convinced he has a good chance of clinching the title.
''The top three drivers are within ten points of each other and two of them drive for Ferrari, so things really aren't that bad,'' he added.
''But we can't throw away points like we did in Hungary. We've worked hard to make the car competitive again and now we've got to resolve the remaining problems: we need to raise our reliability. We can't repeat certain mistakes: we don't have any more excuses''.

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