Felipe Massa disappointed with Australian GP result - Formula 1 news
Ferrari’s Felipe Massa has claimed that he was disappointed with a fourth place finish in the Australian GP in Melbourne on Sunday, March 17, 2013.
The Brazilian had qualified fourth ahead of team-mate Fernando Alonso and was looking strong right throughout the race. He was looking good for a podium until a
strategic gamble kept him away from the podium.
The risk was actually taken by Alonso, who pitted earlier for his final stint and benefitted in the end. However, the team decided to keep Massa on the track, as
he was posting some decent lap times.
Reflecting on Alonso’s early stop, Massa said, “Honestly it was a little bit too early to stop. We were planning to stop maybe three or four laps after. Looking
at the degradation on the tyres, it was quite high. But he took a risk and it worked. The track improved and it was much better for keeping the pace with more rubber on the track, and he didn't have any cars in front.”
Although there are speculations that Ferrari deliberately kept Massa on track, the veteran driver does not agree with that. According to him, things were going
smoothly and there was no need of taking any risks from that position.
Therefore, he added, “When you're fighting with the guy at the front and then you lose two positions, you're always disappointed. I am a little bit disappointed
about this but overall I'm happy because the way we started the season was very, very positive.”
Massa was unable to make an impression last year and he almost lost his seat with the Italian squad. However, some decent point finishes towards the end of the
2012 season helped him secure another year with the team.
This gave immense confidence to the 31-year-old and he looked positive throughout the winter testing. Luckily for him, Ferrari have come out with a stronger package
compared to last year and he will be in a position to fight for podiums regularly. However, he will have to come up with some solid results over the next few events otherwise he will once again end up playing the second fiddle to Alonso.
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