Massa wants more test freedom in F1

May 14 (GMM) Felipe Massa would prefer if teams were given more freedom to decide their in-season testing plans.

For cost reasons, there are now only two official group tests within the annual race calendar -- immediately after the Spanish and Austrian grands prix.

The two-day Barcelona session, attended by Brazilian Massa, has just ended.

"Tests are always important," he told UOL Esporte. "It's always good to do laps to understand the car better.

"But even if it is important, I think a test like that in Barcelona is less important because we have just raced here, and now we are going to a completely different track so it's not so easy to get things ready for Monaco," said Massa.

However, the 34-year-old said he understands that cost restraints in formula one make post-race tests more affordable for struggling teams.

"It is not a matter of preference," said Massa, "it is just what some teams are able to do.

"There are some teams that could test anywhere, but others not -- that's why they test after the race because it costs less."

Interestingly, Massa said that Williams would be among the teams who might choose to test privately, even though the British team's budget is not one of the biggest in the sport.

"For us, it would be interesting to test somewhere else, but we have to understand the whole situation," he insisted.