Felipe Massa felt he should have qualified higher up the grid than tenth after a disappointing end to qualifying at the Sepang International Circuit on Saturday.
The Williams Martini Racing driver was the slowest of those who made it through to the top-ten shootout, but felt the pace was there to out-qualify at least three drivers ahead of him, most notably the Sahara Force India duo Sergio Perez and Nico Hülkenberg, and the McLaren-Honda of Jenson Button.
Massa is now hoping that the team can perform better during Sunday’s race, and is looking to secure a good haul of points in what will be his final Malaysian Grand Prix.
“I think qualifying was going well, but for sure we expected to finish higher up,” said Massa. “I had the pace in Q2 and it was a big fight for a couple of tenths. Unfortunately, we are three places back on where it was possible to be.
“Anyway, the race is tomorrow and I really hope the strategy, the pace, the weather and everything can be in our favour and can help our race. We will try everything we can.”
