MONACO — Ferrari and Felipe Massa hoped the treacherous streets of Monaco had marked a turning-point for the under-fire Brazilian on Sunday.
With eight points in the bag for sixth place in the principality, Massa finally got his Formula One season into gear. The haul was four times the meagre tally from five previous races.
Just as importantly, he was able to match the leaders’ pace and finished the 78 laps just 6,195secs behind Red Bull’s race winner Mark Webber.
“I think he did a great weekend. It was the weekend he deserved after a lot of big pressures,” team principal Stefano Domenicali told reporters.
“I think he did a great qualifying, you always can say he could have been a little bit better in Q3 (the third phase), but we need to look for a wider picture, from a wider angle. He did a great race today.
“He was there in the first six cars which were very close. He was there, so that’s for me the best thing and I’m sure that this will be a turning of his season because he needs that,” added the Italian.
Massa had drawn a blank in four of the five previous races, with a ninth in Bahrain all he had to show for his efforts behind the wheel.
