Felipe Massa has abandoned plans to return to Brazil to spend time with his family and instead was yesterday on his way to Ferrari HQ in Maranello, where he will try and recover his early-season nosedive.
Massa, in the final year of his contract, is under pressure after two races in which he finished outside the points, while his team-mate, Fernando Alonso, leads the championship after victory in Malaysia.
But Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali has offered some hope to his driver by comparing his current plight with his start to the 2008 season, when Massa came within seconds of being crowned world champion after a similar start.
"I well remember four years ago, in fact right after a Malaysian Grand Prix won for us by Kimi Raikkonen, Felipe was more or less in the same situation as today," said Domenicali. "The papers were demanding his immediate replacement, but he managed to react in the best way possible, thanks to support from the team, which saw him win two of the next three races.
"We remember how that particular season ended; we took our 16th constructors' title."
The difference is that Massa could only qualify 12th in Malaysia, compared to pole four years ago, due to the uncompetitiveness of the current car.
Domenicali added: "Felipe will be in Maranello to work alongside the engineers to analyse everything that happened in these races, trying to identify why he was not able to deliver what he is capable of. That's the right spirit and we are here, ready to help him."
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