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No hard feelings with Alonso, says Massa

Felipe Massa says he and Fernando Alonso are getting on well at Ferrari © Getty Images

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Felipe Massa is confident he has a good working relationship with new team-mate Fernando Alonso and that it will allow Ferrari to progress during the coming season.

The pair have not always seen eye-to-eye and had a heated argument after banging wheels while fighting for the lead at the 2007 European Grand Prix. Massa is confident that episode is behind them and that there are no bad feelings now they are at the same team.

"I'm sure that we'll work together very well, because this will help us both and also the team regarding the car's development," he said at Ferrari's winter press event. "Naturally we'll both fight to stay ahead, because that's our sport. Fernando is an extremely talented driver and I'll try to help him with my experience at Ferrari. We had a discussion in 2007, after the Nurburgring race, because he accused me of unsporting behaviour: we cleared that, he apologised and that was it. Over the last days we spoke about our ideas regarding the car's development."

Massa was team-mates with Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 and 2008, but he already believes he has a more cordial relationship with Alonso.

"Although I've always worked very well with Kimi, I've spoken more to Fernando over the last three days than with him in three years," he said. "During my career I've always had extraordinary teammates. This is what enabled me to learn and to improve, because you can learn a lot from a different driving style, from the way he sets up the car, how he goes into corners and how he brakes."

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