Following the reduction in downforce since 2004, Felipe Massa feels that drivers might not be able to take on the famed Eau Rouge with flat out accuracies like they used to.

According to the Ferrari-bound Brazilian, a certain degree of control should be exercised by the drivers as the loss of downforce coupled with the one-tire rule should make the tricky downhill-uphill-corkscrew corner even more challenging.

Massa said, “It’s not just Eau Rouge that makes it special, though that will be interesting this year with the reduction in downforce since 2004. It might still just be flat, but it won’t be easy flat. Then there are all the other very quick corners, and the fact that here the driver really can make a difference in the cockpit.”

Hoping for a repeat of his last year’s sterling performance when he finished fourth ahead of the more experienced teammate Giancarlo Fisichella, Massa looks forward to this weekend’s race at Spa-Francorchamps.

“Spa is a brilliant circuit,” Massa claims, “and I don’t just say that because last year I was able to finish fourth and score my best finish up to that point. It is still definitely the best circuit that we go to and my favourite.”

Massa has so far scored in three grands prix this season, and none was at the same venue as his teammate’s. He came in seventh in Bahrain, finished fourth in Montreal and ended eighth in the German GP, accumulating eight points so far to rank 13th in the Drivers Championship, two places higher than his former world champion teammate Jacques Villeneuve.