Sep.9 (GMM) Felipe Massa has the perfect chance to race for his career at Monza.

After a miserable 2012 in which rumours began to swell about his impending Ferrari exit, the Brazilian qualified third in front of the team's loyal 'Tifosi' at Monza.

So even if teammate Fernando Alonso would almost certainly have been ahead of him if the Spaniard's F2012 had not faltered in Q3, it is Massa's best qualifying result since Canada last year.

"With Alonso's problems, we're counting on Massa," Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo told Italian reporters on Saturday.

"He has to try to win this race, for Ferrari and for his future."

Massa agreed: "It's a very important race for us, a very important race for me.

"I know how important it is for me," he repeated.

Team boss Stefano Domenicali admitted that Ferrari is now in the process of thinking about the identity of the sister car alongside Alonso in 2013.

"I cannot say when (a decision will be made)," he is quoted by Brazil's O Estado de S.Paulo.

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