Saturday 19 July at 21:27 : Felipe Massa used the occasion of his front-row qualifying berth at Hockenheim to refute claims he struggles to drive his Ferrari equally quickly on a wet track.

The Brazilian has had a strong weekend, consistently higher in the timesheets than the reigning world champion occupant of the sister F2008, Kimi Raikkonen.

But the contrast with two weeks ago at Silverstone, where he finished dead last in the rain, could not be starker, reinvigorating suggestions he is not as good in F1's new traction control-free era in a downpour.

To reporters on Saturday, the 27-year-old denied his form in Germany can be described as a "recovery" after Silverstone.

"In my career I have been quick in the wet -- even in go-karts I always won in the rain.

"I don't believe it when people say I am not good in the wet. I haven't forgotten how to drive in the wet now I am in formula one," Massa added.

Earlier this weekend, Massa dismissed the British grand prix two weeks ago as simply a bad event for him all round.