Felipe Massa: New Ferrari F138 car much better than F2012

Ferrari F138 front-view comparison

Felipe Massa has clarified his recent assessment that the 2013 Ferrari is "on a different planet" compared to last year's red car.

Although the Brazilian struggled for much of last season, the Maranello team and Fernando Alonso recovered sufficiently so that the Spaniard was a title challenger right until the last lap.

So if the F138 is "on a different planet", why then are commentators saying Red Bull, Lotus and possibly McLaren are currently looking better in pre-season testing?

Asked about the 'planet' comment, Massa told O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper: "Yes, I said it, but I was comparing it (the F138) with what we had at the beginning of last year's testing.

"This (2013) car is good," he added, "but still 'green'. When we develop it, we will see.

"I have seen people doing good times, like Red Bull, Lotus McLaren. As far as we can talk, we will have a package of new components here (in Barcelona) next week and then in Melbourne.

"But we are in a much better condition than in 2012," said Massa.

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