Felipe Massa says he will have to produce better performances to keep his place at Ferrari for another year.
“The results will decide whether I stay here or move teams,” he told Autosport.
So far this year Massa has scored 61 points to Alonso’s 133. However he believes he can still retain his place at the team.
“The possibility to stay is there, but the most important thing is the results,” he said. “I’m happy with the way I’m driving in terms of pace – in qualifying and race pace.”
Massa’s performances have not compared favourably with those of other drivers in top teams. From 2010 to 2012 he scored less than half of team mate Fernando Alonso’s points tally – 48.8%. In comparison Mark Webber scored two-thirds of Red Bull team mate Sebastian Vettel’s points during the same period.
Massa, who has driven for Ferrari since 2006, is yet to win a race since returning from injury at the beginning of 2010 – though he was ordered to give up a win to Alonso in Germany that year.
His future has been a persistent source of speculation due to his wavering performances, which improved at the end of last season but tailed off early this year. He suffered two high-speed crashes in Monaco and spun out of the German Grand Prix after just three laps.