Nothing to lose at Monza declares Raikkonen
Team-mate Kimi Raikkonen crashed out at Spa as the rain fell after dominating much of the race. The Finn however has not given up on the championship challenge, despite now trailing Hamilton by 18 points.
Monza is the home event for the Ferrari team that remain at the head of the constructors' standings by 12 points.
Felipe Massa
"It is now looking very interesting in terms of the championship, as I am just two points behind. I drove my race in Spa to finish, thinking about the championship situation and I did the right thing, because I gained one place after Kimi's crash and then after the race, came another move up the finish order. I am happy with that because the championship is really open now. But there are still five races to go and so we need to do a good job. The last couple of laps in Spa were extremely slippery and so I slowed down even more than normal because I saw there was a comfortable gap to the guy behind and I just wanted to make sure I finished the race. If I had been in a fight for another position, I would have pushed harder. But I was thinking more of the championship situation and I did not want to finish without any points, through taking risks.
"Arriving in Monza as the winner of the last race is a boost and we also had a good test there the week before Spa. We did a lot of mileage which was important from the reliability point of view, especially on the engine front, which will be a key element for the coming races. We also did a lot of mileage running the low downforce Monza aero package. I think the results were generally okay and thanks to some changes on the suspension, we managed to improve the way the car works over the curbs which is so important at this track."
"We will find out during qualifying on Saturday if we did a really good job on that front. That kind of circuit requires good mechanical grip when tackling the curbs, but you also need a car that is good in terms of downforce to give you a good top speed. Unless both these elements are at their best, you have not done a good enough job. A good combination of these elements makes the car quicker and more consistent. Let's wait and see what happens and personally, I can't wait to be back on the race track after that unusual Sunday afternoon in Spa."
Kimi Raikkonen
"Obviously that wasn't the result we were looking for at Spa, but it was great to be back to fight for the title. Finally I had the right feeling with the car and the Spa circuit is just the most beautiful track for a Formula One race."
"I'm not worried about what happened and I won't give up: I'll fight right until the end. The points will be counted at the end of the season: there are still five races to go. My actual position is not ideal, but as I've said many times I'm not someone who gives up easily."
"We're going back to the track immediately for the Italian GP. Monza is the Mecca of Ferrari's tifosi and I think that there will be a lot of Finnish fans, too. It's the fastest track of the year and it's good to go there, knowing that I can count on a car, which runs how I like it."
"Last year I had a nasty accident on Saturday morning: I hit the wall and the impact was tremendous, which made it the most difficult weekend of the season. We had a very productive test session on this track before Spa. I think that the F2008 can be really competitive: after the qualifying we'll see if it was enough. We'll give it all to win, for the Team and for the fans. This is Ferrari's home race and it would be fantastic to win the Italian GP for the first time. I've got nothing to lose, so I'll give it all, going flat out."