Felipe Massa is confident the Ferrari F10 is getting stronger and stronger ahead of the first grand prix in Bahrain.

The car is widely regarded as the frontrunner after four weeks of pre-season testing and Massa said he had noticed continual improvements in its handling throughout February.

"I have a very positive impression," he said after Saturday's test. "You can feel more grip and more downforce. It's encouraging, because it means that we made another step ahead compared to Jerez."

In spite of the wet weather on the third day, Massa completed an entire race simulation and said he had learned a lot about the new car.

"We managed to drive many miles, which is always positive," he said. "We finished another race simulation without any problems, which helped us to better understand the tyre behaviour with different fuel loads and under different track conditions. I'm satisfied with today. We're working in the right direction for the start of the championship."

Massa will stay in the car for the final day of testing on Sunday, when he is hoping to collect enough information to be able to make one last development push ahead of Bahrain.

"Let's hope the weather improves," he said. "It would be important to finish the tests on a dry track to collect some more important data regarding the car under various conditions, also with less fuel on board."

Source: en.espnf1.com