Don’t even think about being driven around in one of the Roll Royce Phantoms that the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong is offering guests or the $165,000 Bentley that the Fairmont Chicago is using as an incentive for its well-heeled customers. It’s so much better to drive your own personal red Ferrari around Italy for a week.

This dimunitive Ferrari star, Felipe Massa is going to be receiving a prestigious award in recognition of his impressive performances for Ferrari last season. The 25 year old won the Turkish and Brazilian Grand Prix despite having a shaky start to the season, and managed to silence many of his critics with his spirited performances.

The Lorenzo Bandini award instituted in honour of the F1 driver who was killed in a terrible fiery accident at the 1967 Monaco Grand Prix, is given each year to drivers who have shown exceptional fighting spirit in racing. The award is traditionally presented by Lorenzo’s widow Margherita in Bandini’s hometown of Brisighella, near Imola.

Felipe Massa has denied any suggestion that the Ferrari F2007 is struggling and that the Scuderia is having any trouble. Massa is incredibly pleased with the current progress of Ferrari’s testing and believes the F2007 is on the pace.

This is what the Brazilian had to say: “Before we started winter testing, a lot of people made comments about our new car, saying it looked very different to the others and they were asking if we had got it wrong. But it’s not important what people outside the team say; what is important is what we achieve on track.