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Massa won't settle for mid-grid team

Felipe Massa: "I want to find the best car and have the best opportunity to fight for victory and the championship" © Sutton Images

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Felipe Massa says he does not want to be in Formula One just to make up the numbers and is targeting a race seat that will allow him to fight for wins and titles in 2014.

Massa's eight-year Ferrari career will come to an end at the end of this season when he makes way for Kimi Raikkonen's return. He claims to have been in talks with Lotus and has made clear he is not willing to drive for a team at the back of the grid.

"We are talking with some teams and I hope we will find the best direction for me," he said. "I know I have a lot to do still and I want to find a good car. I'm not interested to be in Formula One just to be there on the grid in the picture. I want to be there for a good opportunity to fight for the best results possible.

"If I'm just in the car to be on the grid then I'm not interested. I want to find the best car and have the best opportunity to fight for victory, the championship and fight for the best for me. That's what I'm looking for and I hope I can find this direction and I know I have a lot to give."

Ferrari team principal Sefano Domenicali said it had been an emotional decision to replace Massa.

"It was very difficult from the emotional point of view because I've known Felipe since he was in short trousers," Domenicali said. "He was 19 and I get on with him and it was an intense moment from a personal and professional point of view. In this situation I have to say that I learnt something from him because he accepted the situation with the serenity that he showed. In this world that is not so common so he showed once again who Felipe is as a man. For me that is the priority."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.