Felipe Massa blames himself for his mistake
Felipe Massa lost an entire day due to going off track on his first timed lap. The day was also challenging for Lance Stroll and the team as a whole, which was fined 10,000 euros.
Few reasons to smile in the Williams garage this evening. While the team was awaiting the return of Felipe Massa, their most experienced driver, the Brazilian couldn’t provide them with any data due to an off-track excursion right at the start.
The veteran thus acknowledged that this spin-off at the exit of the Combes chicane was entirely his fault: « A session to forget for me. During my first, I had a big oversteer in turn 7 and hit the inside curb. It was my fault, and I am really disappointed to only do one lap today. It’s not good for the rest of the weekend because when you miss two sessions like that, it’s hard to understand the whole car. »
Chassis change for Felipe Massa at Spa
“As Paddy Lowe revealed to us during the lunch break, the team was therefore forced to change the chassis and was not able to go back out in the afternoon, especially with the deluge that swept across the circuit at the end of the session. The technical director stated: « As we were unable to do more running with Felipe today, it’s a significant loss for the development program, both for new parts and the usual work. Especially since Felipe needed time in the car after missing the race in Hungary. »
The day went better for Lance Stroll, but the rookie couldn’t do better than 15th and 17th. During the second session, the Canadian was slowed down by numerous changes to his car since it was the only one available, as Paddy Lowe confirms: « In FP2, due to significant changes, he could only do short stints with little fuel before the rain arrived. Even then, he was hindered by traffic during his laps on ultra-softs. So it’s not great on the time sheets, but we obtained good information. »
Saturday is going to be a busy day, especially during the third and final free practice session. To make matters worse, the team has also been fined 10,000 euros by the FIA for failing to return a set of tires after 40 minutes, as stipulated by the regulations. Since this error had already been committed in 2015 in Malaysia, the team could not avoid a penalty. A very bad day overall…
From our special correspondent in Spa-Francorchamps
