• Hungarian Grand Prix - FP2

Massa targets improvements

Felipe Massa said it was not difficult to drive his car again at the Hungaroring © Getty Images

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Felipe Massa has singled out the areas Ferrari needs to work on to further close the gap to its title rivals in Hungary.

After a resurgent German Grand Prix, where Ferrari secured a much needed 1-2, Massa and team-mate Fernando Alonso were again the closest team to Red Bull after Friday's free practice session. But Massa remains mindful that his team must continue to make gains if it is to stay in touch.

"As has generally been the case this year, we need to work on our performance on the first timed lap: our main rivals manage to set a time quickly while we struggle a bit more," sais Massa. "This is vital, especially for qualifying which, at a track like this, is even more critical than usual. In particular, we have to get the front tyres working as well as possible. In terms of race pace, I would say we are pretty good, as was also demonstrated in Hockenhiem."

Friday's free practice session marked the first time Massa had driven the Hungaroring circuit since his career-threatening injury at the same venue last year.

"Returning to driving at this track was not difficult for me: when you are in the car and you shut the visor, you only think about going quickly.

"It was definitely good yesterday to go to the medical centre and meet the people who took care of me immediately after the accident, and it was equally emotional to have dinner with the surgeon who operated on me at Budapest's AEK hospital: I wish to take this opportunity to once again thank everyone for what they did for me one year ago; they are really extraordinary people."

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