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'I definitely feel more confident' - Massa

Felipe Massa closely shadowed Fernando Alonso throughout the Monaco weekend © Sutton Images

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Felipe Massa admits that the Monaco Grand Prix has given him a confidence boost following his dismal start to the season.

Before Monaco, Massa was being substantially outperformed by his team-mate Fernando Alonso and had scored just two points from the opening five races compared to Alonso's 61. Just as the pressure appeared to be growing on Massa - with some dissent starting to creep in from Ferrari - he delivered his best performance of the season in Monaco to match Alonso and finish the race just 6.1 seconds behind the race winner, albeit back in sixth place.

Reflecting on the race weekend which saw him increase his points tally to ten, Massa told the official Ferrari website that he was more positive but still had a lot of work to do.

"I definitely feel more confident now," Massa said. "I feel stronger as well and it's also true that if Monaco was a good race, I was not that happy because, after the work I had done right from first practice, I had expected to be fighting for a podium finish. We had a chance of doing that, we had a good enough pace, but a better qualifying performance would have improved our chances on Sunday. It was very good compared to the start of the season, but we cannot be satisfied and now I want us to work hard to get something more. If we find the right direction, I know what I can do."

Looking ahead to the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend, Massa added that he hoped some more upgrades would help him be "even stronger than in Monaco".

"We continue our plan of constantly improving the F2012, because even the slightest performance gain can mean more places on the grid or in the race and we will have some updates this weekend. It will make for a very busy Friday, as we combine race preparation with evaluating our new elements. Hopefully the car will be even stronger than in Monaco and I can continue to bring home points to help the team."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.