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"A few hours after standing on the podium at
Spa to receive the trophy for second place
in the Belgian Grand Prix, I learned that I
had actually been declared the winner," says
Belgian Grand Prix victor Felipe Massa. |
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"A few hours
after standing on the podium at Spa to receive the
trophy for second place in the Belgian Grand Prix, I
learned that I had actually been declared the winner,"
says Belgian Grand Prix victor Felipe Massa. "I was in
the team motorhome, saying goodbye to everyone and
getting ready to leave the circuit, when Stefano
Domenicali informed me that the Stewards had penalised
Lewis for his overtaking move on Kimi and that I was now
the winner.
"Immediately after the podium ceremony, we knew the
incident was under investigation and my first reaction
was to find out what had actually happened, as I didn't
see it when I was on the track. What Lewis did is the
sort of thing that can happen, but I think he was maybe
a bit too optimistic in thinking he could just hand back
the position, albeit only partially to Kimi and then
immediately try and pass him again. Incidents like this
have often been discussed in the official driver
briefings when it has been made absolutely clear that
anyone cutting a chicane has to fully restore the
position and also any other eventual advantage gained.
If Lewis had taken the chicane correctly, he would never
have been able to pass Kimi on the very short straight
that follows it. That was my immediate opinion after
seeing the replay. Maybe if Lewis had waited and tried
to pass on the next straight, that would have been a
different matter.
"It is now looking very interesting in terms of the
championship, as I am just two points behind. I drove my
race in Spa to finish, thinking about the championship
situation and I did the right thing, because I gained
one place after Kimi's crash and then after the race,
came another move up the finish order. I am happy with
that because the championship is really open now. But
there are still five races to go and so we need to do a
good job. The last couple of laps in Spa were extremely
slippery and so I slowed down even more than normal
because I saw there was a comfortable gap to the guy
behind and I just wanted to make sure I finished the
race. If I had been in a fight for another position, I
would have pushed harder. But I was thinking more of the
championship situation and I did not want to finish
without any points, through taking risks.
"While I am pleased to have won, I have to feel sorry
for Kimi too. I know what it is like to be leading a
race and then losing it with a few laps to go. He was in
a different situation to me when the rain came, as he
was fighting for the win. It is very frustrating for
him, especially after he drove a great race. Now, in
just a few days we start again in Monza and I am really
motivated to have a great race there, especially in
front of all our home fans. We need to concentrate and
be strong all weekend and then in the last few races.
"On Sunday night, I flew back to Monaco and I was able
to celebrate with my uncles and my father who watched
the race with me. I am leaving on Tuesday already for
Monza, as I have some promotional work to do for the
team and sponsors and then it will be down to work on
Friday. Arriving in Monza as the winner of the last race
is a boost and we also had a good test there the week
before Spa. We did a lot of mileage which was important
from the reliability point of view, especially on the
engine front, which will be a key element for the coming
races. We also did a lot of mileage running the low
downforce Monza aero package. I think the results were
generally okay and thanks to some changes on the
suspension, we managed to improve the way the car works
over the kerbs which is so important at this track. We
will find out during qualifying on Saturday if we did a
really good job on that front. That kind of circuit
requires good mechanical grip when tackling the kerbs,
but you also need a car that is good in terms of
downforce to give you a good top speed. Unless both
these elements are at their best, you have not done a
good enough job. A good combination of these elements
makes the car quicker and more consistent. Let's wait
and see what happens and personally, I can't wait to be
back on the race track after that unusual Sunday
afternoon in Spa."
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