Felipe Massa was less happy with his Friday performance in Mexico than he was seven days ago in the United States, with the Brazilian ending up ninth and twelfth across the two sessions at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
The Williams Martini Racing driver admitted to not getting the most out of his Ultrasoft tyre Qualifying simulation, but the long run afterwards was more promising, and the aim for the team this weekend is to score points to maintain their advantage in fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship.
Massa is confident that he can have a strong Qualifying performance on Saturday, and should the session be mistake-free, a points finish on Sunday will become a more genuine opportunity.
“Austin was maybe a slightly better Friday in terms of lap time,” said Massa. “I didn’t have the perfect lap on my first run on the soft tyre, which is really hard for here.
“I wasn’t 100% ready for the Ultrasoft but the long run wasn’t bad, so I think we are there in the fight. We just need to try and score points. We know that Renault are looking competitive.
“With the altitude here, even if you have the maximum downforce, you still have a lot less than at Monza, so it’s easy to make mistakes. I didn’t, so I hope I can carry on like that all weekend. Tomorrow, I hope we can have a good qualifying and a good race.”
