Felipe Massa has revealed he is feeling "super confident" ahead of the 2011 season.
The Brazilian insists his difficult season with Ferrari last year was mainly due to his not liking the characteristics of the Bridgestone tyres.
Indeed, ever since Massa began testing on this season’s Pirellis, he has been back on the pace - including by recording the standout fastest time at the most recent Barcelona test.
"I turned the car upside down to see if the tyres really are working for me," he said in an interview with O Estada de S.Paulo newspaper.
Massa, who according to the interviewer is "visibly excited" about 2011, confirmed: "I am much more in control of the car and know what I can do with it."
Describing his problems of last year, he explained: "I couldn’t get everything out of the car after trying everything. There was no way to be happy, and happiness is very important, especially with this sort of job.
"It was hard going to a race knowing what would happen. Now, everything changed after three laps with these new tyres," said Massa.
He confirmed claims that Ferrari is looking "very competitive" for the 2011 season.
"I had good results with Schumacher in the team, great with Kimi and then a horrible year with Alonso. But it was horrible because the car didn’t work for me," said Massa.