The weather has spoken about rain for weeks now but there was nothing but sunshine at the Interlagos circuit in Sao Paulo during a recent event for Felipe Massa. Ferrari sponsor Santander organized an event on the local F1 track to present its sponsor program to the local media that the Spanish bank set up to collaborate with Ferrari in Formula 1.

Felipe went onto the track for a parade on board a Ferrari California and later behind the wheel of a F2008 provided by Maranallo’s F1 Clienti department. The Brazilian was joined by Emerson Fittipaldi and Luciano Burti, who were greeted with lots of enthusiasm by the crowd that were present from the early hours of the morning.

Felipe, behind the wheel of a single-seater with “demo” tyres, went onto the track for some “hot laps”, joining the F430 Challenge driven by Fittipaldi and the Fiat 500 with Burti on the main straight. During the press conference Felipe underlined being enthusiastic about his return to the Interlagos track.

“It’s always great driving here on my home circuit, in front of my fans. One week before the first GP I’ve got an edge.”

Asked about his new teammate Fernando Alonso, Felipe spoke about the present and the future...

“I don’t care if there have been miscommunications in the past, this is our sport. Now it’s important to stay concentrated and work together well. This is what we’re doing. Having seen the great work of the other teams I’m convinced that we’ve got an interesting Championship ahead of us.”