Massa: Mid-season break vital for Ferrari

Brazilian Felipe Massa believes the now-established tradition of a mid-season European summer break has given his Ferrari team - and himself - a perfect opportunity to regain their form. Ferrari have won only two races this season and both thanks to the brilliance of Spaniard Ferando Alonso. But they have not enjoyed any success since the Spanish Grand Prix in May and have seen their race performances fail just as dismally as their qualifying showings in recent months. Even if the teams are banned from working or opening their factories for two weeks, Massa claimed this week that the break will still allow them to think and solve problems while away on holiday. "The development work is very important," said Massa, whose seat with the team is under threat. "We need to make this car quicker. So it's a very important four weeks from one race to the other. "We know that we have a break for everybody and the team needs to be closed for two weeks. Nobody can work, but the working and thinking are important to bring new pieces for the next race in Belgium and to have a more competitive second half of the season." Massa said he felt that Pirelli's new tyres - first raced in Hungary - can help Ferrari, but any progress will take time "We've seen teams like Mercedes doing a good job on these tyres," he said. "Our car was not as competitive as expected so I think this is the most important thing." The team this week rejected suggestions that they are considering dumping Massa and bringing back Finn Kimi Raikkonen. Source: AFP