Massa sees Mercedes creating a surprise this weekend at Monza

Felipe Massa expects to see the usual teams battling at the front, namely Red Bull, McLaren, and Ferrari. However, the Brazilian driver thinks that a fourth team could cause a stir at Monza: Mercedes GP.

Mercedes showed that they probably have the best straight-line speed on the grid and since this is important on this track (Monza), they could play a role this weekend, said Felipe Massa on the blog he maintains on the Scuderia Ferrari website.

The German team proved at Spa-Francorchamps during the last race that the Mercedes W-02 was a fast car and not just in a straight line, with Nico Rosberg briefly taking the lead early in the race and Michael Schumacher making a fantastic comeback, finishing in 5th place after starting last.

Mercedes also has one of the best KERS available thanks to its experience, and the drivers also have an efficient DRS. These two elements, combined with the Mercedes engine, which is said to be the most powerful on the grid according to other engine manufacturers, could be very useful to Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher on the long straights of the Monza circuit, where drivers could reach nearly 340 km/h, if not even more.

Nico Rosberg is also confident for this race because he believes he has a good car for fast circuits like Spa-Francorchamps or Monza: « We saw during the last race in Spa that we were competitive on the very fast tracks, and we clearly made a step forward there. I am convinced that we can do the same at Monza this weekend. »