JAPAN GP: Massa Interview Oct 11 Qualifying Explanation *SPOILER*

(FROM AUTOSPORT)

Q. What happened in qualifying?

Felipe Massa: I just had no grip in Q3. I have a very quick car in Q1 and Q2, and had some great laps. Then in Q3 I could not find the grip and for sure we can always look at the (fuel) strategies, but I think I could have done a better lap. I could not find the right balance to get the maximum out of the car.

I did the most I could in the first try in Q3, I pushed a lot on the out lap and the tyres were good. Then on the second try I pushed too much (on the out lap) and I think I had used the tyres too much for the last sector. So it was finished.

Q. What goes through your mind when you see Lewis Hamilton is on pole position?

FM: Well, for sure I was not happy. But that's not because he is on pole. I am not happy because I did not do a great lap like I did in Q2 and like I did yesterday. I think we have a good car, so we could not exploit 100 percent of the car in Q3. That for sure was a little bit frustrating.

Q. You also have Heikki Kovalainen and Fernando Alonso between you on the grid. What do you think about that?

FM: Sure they will be quite competitive in the race tomorrow, and we need to do the best we can to try and overtake them. For sure we will try everything, thinking about the race and thinking about the points.

Q. Rob Smedley says he is expecting some help from Kimi Raikkonen?

FM: Kimi being strong and possibly being in front of Lewis is always a big help. So sure, if he can do that it will be very good. But we need to get further as well.

Q. You are seven points behind in the championship at this moment. What do you think you can do about that tomorrow?

FM: Well, we need to do our best. I was on pole position at the last race and we didn't score any points. You never know exactly what is going to happen. We need to see what we can do, and do the maximum that we can do. And at the end of the race we can see if we did a fantastic job, a good job or a bad job.

Q. How do you see the overtaking opportunities here?

FM: I think it is for sure more possible than at so many other tracks. It is always difficult. I think it is a little bit more possible.

Q. How satisfied are you with the performance of the team over recent weeks?

FM: Well, we are a team. I am part of the team. Sure we did a great job in so many races, and in some other races we had some difficult moments. But we are all together. We win and we lose together. I am happy with so many things we did, and for sure less happy with other things - but everyone has the same comments inside the team. That is the way it works. Just doing our best to try and score as many points as we can and see if we can change the situation.

Q. But as a driver it is not very often you get a chance to fight for the championship. How hard are moments like Singapore?

FM: Well, it is hard. For sure it is hard. But it is part of our job. Motor sport is like that. The first time you have a problem, or you crash, or you make a mistake, or you have a problem because of an error in the pit stop or with the strategy – that is motor sport, that is racing. It is frustrating, but it is behind us. We need to look forward and we try to do our best.

Q. How do you rate your championship chances?

FM: Well for sure the chance is still there. We have 30 points in front of us. As I said, today the result did not look great. But it doesn't mean that tomorrow will be like that. So we need to keep fighting until the last lap of the last race. Now it is too early to say. We need to keep fighting and we see how the races go, and if we have managed to change the situation or not. If we can do it, it will be fantastic. If not, we will try again next year.

Q. How difficult was it to find the right pace for the out lap so the tyres were performing at their best but did not go off towards the end of the lap?

FM: I did so many different out laps here. From yesterday I had a very similar feeling when I put the first new tyres on. Everybody improved by seven or eight tenths from the old tyres to the new ones, but today it was just three tenths. I just didn't have the grip. Even in Q1 and Q2 I had easy grip, especially on the soft, and then you go to Q3 and try to do a similar out lap and then you have no grip. So I think the window was very difficult. Especially in our car the window for the grip is difficult to find, especially when you have fuel inside.

Q. Judging by this morning's practice, what do you think about the performance of the car in the wet if it rains tomorrow?

FM: I think we were pretty strong this morning in the wet. We did not do so many laps, and only in the beginning when the track was wet. At the end, when the track was quicker, we did not run. So I think we were pretty good, but we need to wait and see.

 

I keep reading these interviews with Massa, and I keep seeing a real team player. The crap he has been handed this year that has prevented him from leading the WDC has got to hurt, yet he seems to keep coming back.

 

Andreas, despite the first two races, if his engine had not blown, and if his crew had not made that mistake in Singapore, and even if Spa was not an issue, I believe Massa would still be leading the WDC.

Massa had difficulty the first two races as did the reigning WDC, did terrible at Silverstone, and yet is still in contention for the WDC.......that does not say much about his competition now does it?