Ferrari's drivers are all geared up and ready to go with high hopes and clear objectives for the 2009 Formula season.
''I don't have to prove anything to anyone anymore, after last season I feel stronger and more competitive,'' Brazil's Felipe Massa told the press here in this mountain resort on Thursday.
Massa lost the 2008 title to McLaren's Lewis Hamilton by one point in the last race of the season, which he won on his home turf in Brazil.
Turning his attention to Ferrari's car for 2009, Massa said ''for sure it is totally different from the one we used last year. It handles differently and slides more, having less aerodynamic pressure''.
In regard to the new KERS (kinetic energy recovery system) device to exploit energy produced from braking, Massa observed that ''this is something totally new for us but I have to admit that the first tests have gone much better than we had expected''.
Kimi Raikkonen was also on hand for the traditional pre-season press conference and said he was glad to be getting back soon behind the wheel and even happier to be with Ferrari.
''This will probably be the last team I race for. I don't want to go anywhere else because I'm happy where I am,'' said the Finn who won the world championship in 2007, his first year with Ferrari.
In regard to speculation he will be replaced next year by Renault's two-time Spanish world champion Fernando Alonso, Raikkonen replied: ''I have a contract for this year and next and personally I don't pay much attention to these rumors and I don't feel under any pressure''.
Massa was also quizzed by the press on Alonso and said ''they've been talking about him for the last two years but I don't see him here with us now and that says it all. Rumors are rumors, sometimes they turn out to be true, sometimes they don't''.
''We both have contracts for the next two years, a lot can happen over that time, we'll see,'' he added.
While Massa has already tested the new Ferrari F60, giving it its inaugural spin on the track last week, Raikkonen will only get behind the wheel later this month when pre-season tests begin at the Portuguese circuit Portimao.
The 17-race 2009 Formula 1 season opens March 29 with the Australian Grand Prix.
