• Spanish Grand Prix - FP2

Race temperatures concern Massa

ESPN Staff
May 11, 2012 « 'A few question marks' for Rosberg | Pirelli confident it has paddock support »
Felipe Massa ended the second practice session with the 11th fastest time © Sutton Images
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Felipe Massa expects a tough Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday if track temperatures match those experienced during Friday practice.

A hot day saw track temperatures reach 44C at the Circuit de Catalunya, with a number of drivers struggling with tyre degradation. While Massa was keen to stress the progress made by Ferrari with its new updates he admitted that the race would still be a difficult one if similar conditions are seen during the grand prix itself.

"It was very hot today, which put the tyres under a lot of strain," Massa said. "We worked a lot on the updates we have available as from this weekend and, at first sight, the results seem to be positive. This morning especially, we concentrated on comparing different configurations, while in the afternoon we worked mainly on set-up and tyre behaviour.

"It's impossible to make a comparison with the results of winter testing, because the track surface conditions have completely changed as the temperature is so different to what we had in the winter. Now we must put together all the best elements to produce our maximum potential and prepare well for qualifying and the race. On Sunday, if it turns out as hot as this, it will be an even tougher race than usual, especially because of tyre degradation."

Although Massa was happy with the new parts, Pat Fry was less inclined to react too positively to the updates until he had studied all of the data from practice.

"In the two sessions, we privileged the job of evaluating and comparing all the new elements available, rather than the more usual preparation for a race weekend," he said. "I am not in the habit of giving instant verdicts on new parts: some elements have fully matched our expectations, others less so. Now we must analyse everything calmly, to get the most out of what we have and put it on the car ... All in all, I think we can say we have made a step forward, but how big it is compared to our competitors is something we will only find out tomorrow."

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