Relieved Massa: It hasn't been an easy few weeks

Sunday 6th April 2008

It was a huge relief for Felipe Massa when he climbed onto the podium in Bahrain on Sunday only moments after clinching his first win and points of the season.

After two disappointing races without a single point and one too many errors, Massa was under pressure to produce the goods in Bahrain this weekend.

But despite being quickest in Friday's practice sessions, a small mistake in Saturday's qualifying cost him pole position.

The Brazilian, though, came out firing on Sunday, taking the lead in the grand prix from BMW's Robert Kubica as they left the grid. Massa held on to the checkered flag, securing both his first victory and his first points of the new campaign.

"For sure, I didn't have very easy weeks but that is life, it is not the first time and it won't be the last," the relieved Brazilian said. "You always have some bad days in your life, I had two bad days in the first two races.

"I know we are quick and when you make a mistake and are behind something is wrong, but when you make a mistake and fight for a win it is bad."

And the 26-year-old conceded that the pressure - both internal and external - that was put on him to succeed this weekend made for a difficult outing on Sunday afternoon.

"This race was quite difficult," he admitted. "I didn't want to make any mistakes, I wanted to bring the car home and control the pace.

"I had all the time in my mind what happened in the last race and I am sure that is normal, and what is in my mind now is the victory.

Talking about his race Massa said: "The race was really difficult in the beginning because there was a lot of oil on the track, and me and Robert both went off.

"It was pretty difficult, and during the race the car was very, very good, I didn't push completely to the limit, I saw the gap increasing and Kimi was behind, but I could keep the gap to him and this traffic was perfect as well."

Massa is now hoping to keep up the good form when the F1 circus heads to Spain, which he believes will suit Ferrari's F2008.

"For sure it is a close season," he said. "Barcelona we like to go to because our car behaves well on these type of track, and hopefully when we get to Monaco we can see if it improved in slow corners compared to last year.

"I think we are in good place for the races coming up."

Massa's victory earned him ten World Championship points, which means he is now up to sixth place, just nine points behind his World Champion team-mate Kimi Raikkonen.