Felipe Massa, who spoke some 90 minutes after the race, says he doesn’t understand why the stewards chose to penalise him for his coming together with McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton.
The pair, who have suffered four similar incidents this season alone, made contact on lap 24 when Hamilton drew alongside Massa into turn five, before Massa took the line into the corner, closing the door on Hamilton resulting in inevitable contact.
The Brazilian says he has nothing against Hamilton, despite calling for harsher penalties against the 26-year-old on more than one occasion this year, and says he was confused as to why he was punished with a drive-through.
“I don’t have anything against him [Hamilton], Zero,” said the 30-year-old. “If I saw him I would tell him what I’m telling you now.
“I don’t understand why I have the penalty,” confessed Massa. “I braked later than him, I was in front and on the grippier part of the circuit and I didn’t see him on the left. So he was behind and he touched my rear wheel. If it was Lewis or not I would do the same.”
Further probed on his comment that he couldn’t see Hamilton, despite looking in his mirrors, Massa explained that he wasn’t alongside enough at the point of braking to claim the corner.
“I knew he was on my side, but when I braked, this is the important place and he was not on my side. I braked later than him. So am I supposed to back off and let him through? He was on the dirty side, I turned, he touched me at the back. If we were wheel to wheel I would not have turned.”
The Ferrari driver insist he did nothing wrong and that their is no feud with Hamilton on his side: “Maybe for him. All the incidents are him touching my car. So I didn’t do anything wrong.”
