FELIPE Massa has vowed to help Fernando Alonso in his bid to land a third Formula One world title.

Last week Alonso called on Ferrari team-mate Massa to come to his aid over the final three grands prix of the season, starting Sunday with the inaugural race in Korea.

Trailing Mark Webber by 14 points and level in the standings with Sebastian Vettel, Alonso knows he needs as much support as he can muster in order to battle the Red Bull duo.

Massa, though, has not been around in the last two races after the Brazilian started at the back of the grid in Singapore last month due to a gearbox issue in qualifying, before suffering a collision at the first corner in the Japanese Grand Prix nine days ago.

It had been mooted Massa was far from interested in playing second fiddle to Alonso after being told to give up his win in Germany, so effectively becoming the number two driver.

Assessing the final three grands prix, Massa said: “They are very important for me on a personal level to fight back after the disappointing outcome of the last two races in Japan and Singapore.

“More importantly, I will be trying to bring home a significant number of points to help the Scuderia in its fight for both championships.

“First we need to qualify well on Saturday and after that, in the race, I want to be in the middle of the battle for the drivers’ championship.

“I want to be fighting with those five drivers who are chasing the title, which is the best thing I can do to help Ferrari’s and Fernando’s aspirations as we head for the end of the championships.

“Korea will be the last of a trio of Far Eastern races and I would like to arrive back in Sao Paolo for my home race with a good result in my pocket.

“I know everyone in the team, at the track and the factory is completely pumped up for the challenge of these last three races, and I am equally keen to give them my best shot.”

For all 24 drivers this weekend, the Korea International Circuit represents a step into the unknown, with only experience in their team’s simulators to rely on.

Looking ahead to the new venue, Massa added: “Will it suit our car?

“Well, apart from when the Red Bulls have sometimes run away from the field, Ferrari has been competitive at most circuits and there is no reason to think differently this time.

“We have seen this year how important it is to get everything working well from the start of practice, running reliably to get through the engineering programme without any technical problems.

“That will also be the case this weekend, but in addition, the first few runs on Friday will be the first time we discover how accurate has been the simulation work we have done back at the factory.

“That will also be the time to discover the real grip level on offer from the track surface as this is something that is not so easy to do without actually putting a car on the track.”