Massa was ‘screaming’ for race to stop

Editor 05 Oct 2014 11:09 AM

Felipe Massa believes the Japanese Grand Prix should have been stopped five laps before officials called it off.

The race started behind the Safety Car due to wet conditions at Suzuka and proceedings were stopped after just two laps as conditions had become too tricky. It resumed after a 20-minute break, again behind the Safety Car.

Things eased up for 35 laps or so before it started to rain again, which played a part in Adrian Sutil crashing at the exit of Dunlop on lap 43.

The German emerged unharmed, but a lap later Jules Bianchi went off at the same place and was knocked unconscious as he hit a crane that was busy removing Sutil’s Sauber.

The Marussia driver was rushed to hospital and the race was finally stopped on lap 47 with the count-back going to lap 44.

Massa, though, felt race control got things wrong at the start and at the finish.

“First of all we need to understand what happened with Jules,” the Williams driver told ESPNF1. “I’m very worried to hear just now that he hit the truck. In my opinion they started the race too early because it was not driveable at the beginning and it finished too late.

“I was already screaming on the radio five laps before that there was too much water on the track but then they just took a little bit too long and it was dangerous.

“You saw that there was the crash at the end and… I just need to understand what happened to Jules.”