Jan 15, 2009, 13:26 GMT
Madonna di Campiglio, Italy - Title holder Lewis Hamilton will be the man to beat as Ferrari drivers Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen set their sights on the 2009 Formula One world title.
But Brazil's Massa vowed on Thursday at Ferrari's annual winter retreat in the Alps that he will give the McLaren driver Hamilton another big fight.
'The most important thing is to be world champion. I am probably in the best position in the career,' he said. 'Everyone starts from zero after the rule changes. But Lewis is probably our biggest rival.'
Massa almost claimed the 2008 world title but Hamilton managed to hold on to his lead when he overtook German Timo Glock in the last lap of the season-ending Brazilian GP to win by one point.
The year before Raikkonen beat Hamilton (and Fernando Alonso) by one points for Ferrari's last drivers' title.
Massa said he was still haunted by the Sao Paulo events in November but vowed 'to learn from this experience' in the new season which starts on March 29 in Australia.
The Finn Raikkonen also expressed his hope that Ferrari will win the title but refrained from promising anything. Raikkonen dismissed speculation about lack of motivation after the 2007 success as the 2008 campaign was below par by his standard.
'I wouldn't be competing if I wasn't hungry for success,' he said.
Apart from Hamilton, the Ferrari drivers named the BMW pair of Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld as rivals along with Renault's Alonso, the 2005 and 2006 world champion.
'Alonso is a good driver. It depends on how good his car is,' said Raikkonen.
Alonso, who won two races last year after Renault vastly improved the car in the second half of the season, has been frequently linked with a move to Ferrari, but that doesn't bother the current lineup.
'Its been said for 18 months that Alonso will come to Ferrari. And he is still not there. My contract runs until 2010. lets see if he comes then,' said Massa.
Raikkonen also shrugged off the speculation as well, saying 'I am not concerned about these rumours.'
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