Massa feels prepared for Ferrari struggle

Felipe Massa staying optimistic after disastrous start for Ferrari

(GMM) Felipe Massa believes he is better prepared than some of his Ferrari colleagues for a difficult 2009 season.

The 27-year-old Brazilian joined the famous Italian outfit in 2006, after two years with the independent team Sauber.

Before that, Massa's career was rescued by Ferrari in 2003 when he was test driver, having been dropped by Sauber following a less than brilliant career debut.

"Many people at the Scuderia have only known successful times, so maybe I can understand better than them what it means to struggle," he said ahead of the Chinese grand prix in Shanghai.

In early 2009, Ferrari has endured its worst start to a season in decades, having failed to score a single point in either Australia or Malaysia.

The F60 car is also apparently struggling on the reliability front, and genuinely outpaced by several rival teams.

"But I think a top team having a difficult season is better equipped to recover, so I am hopeful we can put this bad start to the year behind us and get back on the right road," Massa insisted.

After the disastrous Malaysian outing, Ferrari figures met back at Maranello and made some changes, including deciding to leave team manager Luca Baldisserri at the factory while promoting chief engineer Chris Dyer.

Massa acknowledged: "At the moment, we are not very good in many aspects of what we are doing, but it is also true we have very good people within the race team and back in Maranello, so we know we can react, improve and change some details."