Felipe Massa has said that Ferrari is further off the pace than it expected to be, and cited problems with grip as the main reason.
Massa could only qualify eighth fastest after having a scare during the first qualifying session, with team-mate Fernando Alonso fifth quickest. The Brazilian also spun having just left the pits in the final session, and said he thought the team would be closer to the front, even if Red Bull were out of reach.
"We were less competitive than we could rightly have expected and there's no doubt about that," Massa said. "Sure, I did not think I would be fighting for pole, especially when you look at the very quick time that Vettel did, but I had hoped to be higher up the order. We had problems with grip on both the hard and the soft tyres on a surface where the tyres wear a lot less than we have seen in winter testing and they provide less grip on the first lap, or at least they do with our car."
Massa still didn't rule out a successful race tomorrow however, and attributed his spin to being caught out by the lower tyre and track temperatures.
"Now we have to prepare as well as possible for tomorrow's race, when pure speed will not be the only thing that counts, with reliability and team work being especially important. My spin in Q3? When I came out of pit lane, I accelerated and the tyres were evidently still too cold: the set was not damaged for the race, but it was definitely not a help on my only flying lap."
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