Felipe Massa to test Ferrari F2005

By Phil Huff
June 16 2005

With speculation that Rubens Barrichello may be heading towards BAR Honda for 2006, we hear that Sauber Petronas racer Felipe Massa has lined up a test in the Ferrari F2005.

Massa, managed by Nicolas Todt, son of Ferrari team boss Jean, has been under a mysterious Ferrari contract for a number of years, spending a season testing with the Italian outfit in 2003 before joining Sauber full time.

The team are said to view Massa as an ideal number two driver, potentially lining up alongside seven times world champion Michael Schumacher.

Massa's performances at Sauber this year have shown that the Brazilian has matured greatly since his F1 debut in 2002, and currently leads his highly experienced team mate Jacques Villeneuve by two points.

"I hope now that people might not just say 'Oh, Jacques Villeneuve is slow' but that I am quick," said Massa to Autosport. "I am confident that I am quick."

Massa's driving has been noticed by Ferrari's Jean Todt, with the Frenchman commenting "I see Massa finished fourth [at Canada] in front of much stronger teams, but I never read a word about how good he is because people say that it is my son who is running his career, so that's why he's driving the car."

Should the test go ahead, it will be within the next month. Ferrari are looking to secure a solid driver line up should Barrichello decide to leave, although his contract runs through until the end of 2006. Barrichello recently stated his chances of remaining at Ferrari were '50-50'.