Massa believes he can stay with Ferrari

The majority of the paddock may not think it, but Brazilian driver Felipe Massa believes he can earn a new contract at Ferrari.

Since the Monaco Grand Prix Felipe Massa has re-discovered a bit of form, his moral has been boosted after receiving the backing of Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali and he is beginning to look a much better prospect for Ferrari.

Heading into the Monaco race, the Brazilian driver was high on the agenda of interviewers notes, the worlds media converged on Monaco, booked their little boats to float around the harbour and then booked a slot with Ferrari's Felipe Massa.

All season the media had been linking driver after driver with the apparent vacant seat at Ferrari for the 2013, as there was no chance it would be taken up by Massa once his contract had expired.

Many people believed that was even at risk of losing his seat before the end of the season, to the point where Sauber's Sergio Perez had to publicly state that he would not leave Sauber mid-season if offered a drive with Ferrari.

So these interviews were all about the Brazilian's challenge of keeping his Formula One career on track.

It had been a long time coming, his form had never returned following his accident in Hungary in 2009 and the pressure had been building for months.

So up comes Monaco the track that holds no prisoners and Massa, goes quick in practice and then gets through to the final stage of qualifying for the first time this season.

He then converts that qualifying result into a sixth place finish, his best result of the season and Massa begins to show a bit of confidence at last.

Three races down the line and of course he isn't on the same level as team-mate Fernando Alonso, but a sixth place in qualifying in Canada was converted into a tenth place finish, then there was a difficult race in Valencia, but the British Grand Prix saw Massa start from fifth and finish fourth, his highest finish since the Korean Grand Prix on October 24, 2010.

A clear indication of changing fortunes for the 31-year-old, but will it be enough to keep his seat?

'I think if we keep working like that and keep improving the car and working, I don't see a reason why I cannot be here,' Massa told Autosport Magazine.

'I feel much more comfortable, and driving in the direction that I like, I feel there is a lot more to come.

'This is the direction we need to keep working; to improve the situation every race and to make a different championship for myself from now until the end of the season.'