Ferrari have assured Felipe Massa of their support after the Brazilian scored only 12 points from his last four Formula One races.
After nine Grand Prixs, Massa has 57 points to team mate Fernando Alonso’s 123.
“Felipe is fully aware he can count on our total confidence in him,” Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo told the team website after Massa visited the Maranello factory on Wednesday to spend time on the simulator.
“I hope he will soon secure the results that will show his talent to the full, such as the great starts he pulled off at the last two Grand Prixs. The future? We will talk about that further down the line as there’s no hurry.”
The experienced Brazilian is out of contract at Ferrari at the end of the season and has had to endure regular speculation about his future.
Red Bull change pitstop procedures
Champions Red Bull have changed their split-second pitstop procedures after a rear wheel flew off Mark Webber’s car in the pitlane in Germany last weekend and injured a television cameraman.
An investigation carried out by the team in the wake of the Nurburgring incident found that Webber’s car was released prematurely because a ‘go’ signal was sent accidentally by the right rear wheel man.
Red Bull said they would revise the design of the wheelgun to ensure that, if it accidentally rotated in the mechanic’s hands, the ‘go’ signal could not be sent by accident.