Schumacher backs Massa to show his quality in Bahrain
Massa has failed to finish either of this season's two races
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Wednesday, 02, Apr 2008 10:34
Former world champion Michael Schumacher has backed current Ferrari driver Felipe Massa to bounce back from his poor start to the season.
Massa has failed to finish either of the first two races this year and trails drivers' championship leader Lewis Hamilton by 14 points.
The Brazilian's lack of success is magnified by his team-mate Kimi Raikkonen who won the last race in Malaysia.
But Schumacher is confident Massa can bounce back and show his true ability at the third race of the season in Bahrain this weekend.
The German said: "It's not the best of starts, but things will turn around very quickly I think in his favour. He is certainly still very capable of winning the championship this year.
"He was quickest in Malaysia, and you must be very good to do this and he was a little unfortunate later on."
Schumacher says a win in Bahrain would put Massa right back in the hunt for the title and claims the Brazilian's previous record and general pace this season shows he is still a capable driver.
"He was very strong in Bahrain last time, so there is no reason why he cannot do it again and win impressively," Schumacher added.
The former Ferrari driver says there are still many races left for Massa to close the gap and that it is possible to win the championship despite his poor start.
Schumacher said: "If Massa wins the championship at the end of the year, nobody will care or remember about the start of the season."