Massa is preparing for his first season as a Ferrari driver

Bridgestone-supplied Ferrari dominated in 2004 when tyre changes were last allowed, but suffered last season when they had to last for an entire race.

Massa said: "Everyone knows we had a difficult year with tyres (in 2005), but the rule change will help us.

"There have not been many rules in recent years that have helped us but this one does," added the Brazilian.

Ferrari's supplier Bridgestone makes its tyres differently from Michelin, which supplies Renault and McLaren, last year's two dominant teams.

Those differences mean Michelin were more able to make a tyre that lasted a full Grand Prix distance but also had competitive grip levels.

With tyre changes allowed again, the requirement to combine grip with longevity is not as important.

Ferrari are also confident their new F1 car, which should be unveiled later this month, will bring them better results than their disappointing efforts last season.

Massa said: "There has been improvements and there are more improvements to come."

Ferrari test driver Marc Gene admitted the team had been on a steep learning curve in 2005, when new rules governing aerodynamics were .

"We didn't adapt well to the new rules - it is down to rule interpretation," said the Spaniard. "But we know where we made mistakes last year and we know how to resolve them.

"There is a lot of confidence for 2006 and in fact we are a bit ahead of where we expected to be, although there is still work to do."

Ferrari won only one Grand Prix last season, and that was in the six-car US GP fiasco at Indianapolis.