• Monaco Grand Prix

2012 a career low - Massa

Felipe Massa has scored just two points in 2012 © Sutton Images

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• Race:
• Monaco Grand Prix

• Drivers:
• Felipe Massa

• Teams:
• Ferrari

Felipe Massa has said 2012 has been one of the toughest time of his career as he has struggled to get to grips with this year's car.

Massa has scored just two points this season while Ferrari team-mate Fernando Alonso leads the championship on 61. He said the lack of on-track performance had had an impact on his mental attitude but he is hoping to turn things around this weekend in Monaco.

"I have had a few difficult times in my career and maybe the start to this season has been the most difficult so far," he said. "So, we need to get out of this situation, to get back on a good direction and that is what I am concentrating on. I have had to deal with the technical side of the problem, but also it causes a mental side, as it is not easy to deal with this situation. But if you fix one, then it is easier to fix the other."

He added: "I hope this weekend is where one can consider that my 2012 championship will begin."

Massa said the general pecking order in Formula One is still clouded as competitiveness ebbs and flows at each race track.

"Normally the best cars will come out on top, but at the moment, it's hard to be sure exactly which ones are the best. At the moment, it is hard to tell which car is capable of scoring the most points in every race. That's because we can expect the situation to change often from one track to another, as we have seen with cars that should have been strong at some tracks this year not matching that expectation. Normally, after a few races, a championship starts to take shape and you can see the direction it is going in. But this year it is much harder to get a clear picture."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.