Felipe Massa believes his best-ever finish in the Australian Grand Prix can help him challenge for the world title this season.
After finishing second in the season opener in Bahrain, the Brazilian took third in Melbourne today after several wheel-to-wheel fights, and held off Ferrari teammate Fernando Alonso.
"I had a fantastic start, without wheel spin, and I saw many cars, especially Fernando and [Mark] Webber having some wheel spin," said Massa. "I did a very smooth start and passed them in a very good way. I was happy with the start and whole race was very difficult, very slippery and low grip everywhere.
"My best result in Australia before was sixth and, in 2007, I had problems in qualifying and started last. It's not the best race for me in terms of pace, and we lost some positions at the pit stop and a bit on track because of mistakes, so it is fantastic to have one second and one third.
"We know how important this is for the championship, and in the past I have not scored as many points as I have now. The team did a fantastic job today and I'm happy to finish third in a difficult race like this."