Massa wants lid on Lewis debacle

Felipe Massa insists the furore over his engineer Rob Smedley’s comments during the Singapore Grand Prix is being blown out of proportion…

Felipe Massa insists the furore over his engineer Rob Smedley’s comments during the Singapore Grand Prix is being blown out of proportion.

The Brazilian’s clash with Lewis Hamilton in Singapore returned to the headlines this weekend after the official Formula One website released a video edit of the race in which Smedley is heard saying: “Hold Hamilton as much as we can. Destroy his race as much as we can. Come on, boy…”

Ferrari have confirmed that the message was sent to Massa on Lap 11, just one lap before they made contact, but insisted it’s much ado over nothing.

Massa has now also moved to clear the issue up, saying he hopes to discuss the issue with Hamilton so that they can draw a line under it.

“One more thing before I finally turn the page: I’ve been told that there was a bit of a storm over a phrase that my race engineer said during the race,” he wrote in his blog on the official Ferrari website.

“Apart from the fact that I don’t recall what Rob said, I don’t think there’s any value in stirring up trouble now and trying to link this with the subsequent contact with Hamilton: they are two separate moments and they have nothing to do with each other.

“I’m sure that Lewis and I will find a way to clear this up and put a lid on this story, as is only correct between two drivers. What happens on the track should remain on the track.”

Looking ahead to this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix says it’s wait and see.

“As to Ferrari’s chances, we must wait and see until we actually go out on track, because this season we have sometimes been strong on tracks where we had not expected to be competitive and sometimes it was the opposite,” he wrote.

“By the end of Friday free practice, we should begin to get an idea of our Japanese form. I hope we can be able to fight for the top places, even if, at this point of the season, there is not much more to come in the way of updates in terms of aerodynamics and other developments. While all the drivers like Suzuka, it has often been frustrating to race there, as overtaking is very difficult, but this year with the DRS, KERS and the influence of the Pirelli tyres, I expect that situation to change. I believe the plan is to have two DRS zones which will be a big help.”

Related Links
No malice in Massa message