ROME, March 26, 2008 (AFP) - Brazilian Formula One racer Felipe Massa on Tuesday vowed to bounce back from his fruitless start to the season.

The Ferrari man retired from the first two Grand Prix of the season in Australia and Malaysia and already trails Great Britain´s Championship leader Lewis Hamilton of McLaren by 14 points.

But the Brazilian, who is currently back in his homeland with his wife before heading to Bahrain at the weekend ahead of next weekend´s GP there, claimed he will fight back.

And he also said that his team´s car was in great shape for the season´s challenge.

"Some people seemed to be surprised at what they saw as a return to form for Ferrari in Malaysia but the reality is that in Australia it had all evolved in a bad way for us," Massa told the Ferrari website.

"We never had a chance in that race to show what we could do and our competitors were for sure a bit stronger than us there and operated more effectively than us over the course of the first race weekend of the season.

"In Malaysia, starting from the front row of the grid, we had the possibility to show what we could do.

"But while last weekend proved that we had not suddenly lost the good form we had demonstrated through winter testing, it was not the sort of start to the season that I wanted for myself, what with having a mechanical problem in Melbourne in the first race and then going off the track in Sepang and not finishing the second race.

"It was very frustrating, but as the saying goes, that´s racing. We saw that everyone can have a good day or a bad day and I have started this season with things not going my way.

"But there are still 16 races and 160 points up for grabs. In the next few races I plan to get back all the possible points I have lost in the two opening rounds of this season."