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MAGNIFICENT Felipe Massa hopes to make it a hat-trick of victories in April's Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix to help him overcome the misery of narrowly missing out on last year's Formula One driver's championship.
Although driving to victory on home soil in the last race of the season the ultimate crown was snatched from his grasp by McLaren rival Lewis Hamilton who managed to secure fifth place and maintain a one point advantage in the season-long challenge.
In a clear case of expressing the sport's true agony and ecstasy, Massa remained dignified although nothing could hide the misery on his face as he stood on the podium ironically as both a winner and a loser (see inset, above).
With a steely determination, in an exclusive interview with GulfWeekly, he said: "My goal of the season? To do better than 2008 ..."
And there will be no better place to steer his way to success than in one of the early races of the season and at the home of motor sport in the Middle East - Bahrain.
"Of course! It would be fantastic to make the hat-trick!" said the Brazilian who will be celebrating his 28th birthday on April 25 just 24 hours before he takes to the Sakhir stage.
"I like the circuit and I like the country. The people are very nice and the weather is also fine at the time of the year when we visit the country. I have been always very competitive on this circuit, which suits my driving style well but we must not forget that it also depends on the level of car performance, which has also always been outstanding here.
"This year is a bit different from before because we have a limited amount of testing days, which must be completed before the championship begins - so we know that every testing day is very important. Unfortunately, we have already lost some precious time because of the bad weather conditions both in Mugello and here."
Massa is determined to use his experiences on the track to his advantage. Early last season race pundits were predicting Ferrari would dispose of his driving talents after a rocky start which only came good after his sweet victory in Bahrain.
He said: "My career has always been characterised by pressure. When I arrived in Italy I knew that I had to win the race to be able to get the money to race the next one, therefore, any pressure provoked by criticism is nothing compared to what I have experienced.
"I do not care too much about criticism from the media - they do their job and I know how it works. One day you are the hero, the next one, you are zero!
"I think that all that happened that day at Interlagos made me stronger. It was a dramatic end to the championship but we were fully aware that it was not there that we lost it.
"On that weekend we did all the best as planned, knowing that our destiny did not depend only on us. In the end, we (Ferrari) went very close to another miracle as in 2007 (Kimi Raikkonen stole the crown with a last-gasp victory with Hamilton missing out) but this time things went in the opposite direction.
"I watched the race on TV the day after and I felt that it was harder for the people outside than what it was for me in the car. Anyway, let's look ahead to the future: it does not make sense to complain about the past."
Massa also kept well out of the nasty mind games and bickering about Hamilton's driving style during the final stages of last season which left a sour taste in many race fans' mouths.
Massa explained: "I think we have a good relationship. I have respect for him (Hamilton), as a person and as a driver and I believe it is reciprocal."
Life is looking good for Massa on and off the circuit. Last year he wed his long-time girlfriend who, together with other family members fully support his driving ambition.
"Nothing has really changed. Raffaela and I lived together for many years before getting married so it was not a ceremony which changed our way of life.
"She is very important to me, as my family - my father, my mother, my brother and my sisters are. They always give me a lot of support and I love when they are with me during the race weekends. Together with them I feel very relaxed - this is important during the big days."
