MARCH 8, 2017

Overtaking much harder in 2017 says Massa

Felipe Massa says overtaking will be harder for F1 drivers in 2017.

Felipe Massa says overtaking will be harder for F1 drivers in 2017.

Having called off his retirement to return with Williams this year, the Brazilian impressed with the fastest time and an incredible 168 laps as the final Barcelona test began on Tuesday.

"Not bad for an old an ex-retired driver," he joked on Twitter.

But it was Williams' overall pace that caught the attention of many on Tuesday, including Lewis Hamilton, Daniel Ricciardo, and F1 legend Alain Prost who said the sport should "take notice" of his former team.

Hamilton even said he would like to see the Grove team join the battle with Mercedes, but Massa smiled: "I think we want this more than Lewis does!

"We will see. The Mercedes is incredibly fast and I doubt that we are on par. What I can say is that it was a very positive day and the people on the team are looking a lot happier than last week," he added.

As for the F1 'show' this year, however, Massa is not so sure the sport will be as much fun for the spectators as it will be for the drivers.

After following the clearly less competitive Sauber for several laps on Tuesday without being able to pass, he said: "This is the new formula one.

"Overtaking is very difficult. I was 1.5 seconds faster than the Sauber but I could not pass.

"Behind me was (Renault's) Hulkenberg, and he was faster than me but had no chance to overtake," Massa added.

"I think we will see less overtaking this year than in the last seasons."

(GMM)