Felipe Massa was very disappointed not to win at the Nurburgring on Sunday but his second place finish means he is now almost within striking distance of championship leader Lewis Hamilton of McLaren
The Briton as well as Massa's Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen did not win any points on Sunday. Massa leapfrogged Raikkonen to third and closed the gap to Hamilton to 11 points from 19 before the race. The gap to Fernando Alonso on second place gew to nine points.
Massa led the 60-lap race up to lap 56 when his performance deteriorated markedly after he put on intermediate tyres because of the rain and Alonso caught up with him and eventually found a way past after the cars banged wheels twice.
This, Massa said, was a second place that left a bit of a bitter taste in his mouth.
"I had driven a strong race right up until the last rain shower, then once I had the rain tyres on, I immediately felt vibrations which made the car very unbalanced. All that, after I had been really strong when it had been wet in the early stage of the race.
"In the dry, I managed to gain on Alonso because the car was great. I was lucky at the start because I managed to stay on track when the conditions meant it was almost impossible, but then I was not so lucky at the end. But that's racing and I have to accept it.
"The positive side is that I have made up a lot of ground in the drivers' classification. There is still a long way to go this season and we have to be confident," added Massa.
Raikkonen said he was sure he would have won the race had he not been forced to retire.
"I am very disappointed. I was in a good position, immediately right behind Felipe and Alonso and the car was very quick and I was convinced I could win. But the hydraulic system began to malfunction, I began to lose time and then I was forced to stop.
"This knock back does not mean I feel like giving up the fight, even if there is now one less race in which to compete.
"The gap to the head of the classification remains the same and anything can happen in the seven remaining races. We have a very competitive car but clearly we have to improve on the reliability front."
The Briton as well as Massa's Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen did not win any points on Sunday. Massa leapfrogged Raikkonen to third and closed the gap to Hamilton to 11 points from 19 before the race. The gap to Fernando Alonso on second place gew to nine points.
Massa led the 60-lap race up to lap 56 when his performance deteriorated markedly after he put on intermediate tyres because of the rain and Alonso caught up with him and eventually found a way past after the cars banged wheels twice.
This, Massa said, was a second place that left a bit of a bitter taste in his mouth.
"I had driven a strong race right up until the last rain shower, then once I had the rain tyres on, I immediately felt vibrations which made the car very unbalanced. All that, after I had been really strong when it had been wet in the early stage of the race.
"In the dry, I managed to gain on Alonso because the car was great. I was lucky at the start because I managed to stay on track when the conditions meant it was almost impossible, but then I was not so lucky at the end. But that's racing and I have to accept it.
"The positive side is that I have made up a lot of ground in the drivers' classification. There is still a long way to go this season and we have to be confident," added Massa.
Raikkonen said he was sure he would have won the race had he not been forced to retire.
"I am very disappointed. I was in a good position, immediately right behind Felipe and Alonso and the car was very quick and I was convinced I could win. But the hydraulic system began to malfunction, I began to lose time and then I was forced to stop.
"This knock back does not mean I feel like giving up the fight, even if there is now one less race in which to compete.
"The gap to the head of the classification remains the same and anything can happen in the seven remaining races. We have a very competitive car but clearly we have to improve on the reliability front."