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Formula 1 Canadian GP
Felipe Massa: Crashes and comebacks in Canada
Felipe Massa suffered his first DNF of the season in Canada, and while he was left disappointed, he reckons Williams' pace showed the team will be strong in the upcoming races.
Felipe Massa
Edited: Aug 31, 2016, 3:33 PM
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Felipe Massa
Felipe Massa is a Brazilian Formula One racing driver who currently drives for Williams.
I must admit to coming back from the Canadian Grand Prix with mixed feelings.
One the one hand, the weekend was disappointing because it delivered my first retirement of the season as the result of a problem with the power unit.
This brought to an end my run of point-scoring finishes that stretched back to the Australian Grand Prix.
But there were positive aspects from Montreal too, because it confirmed that Williams Martini Racing can have a good performance on medium-high speed tracks like that.
Things did not get off to the best start when I had an unlucky moment in opening free practice, being involved in a big accident at the first corner.
I had been on track for a few laps trying out a new rear wing that had been specifically designed for low-downforce tracks. But when I got to the braking area for Turn 1, I lost control of the rear of the car when I hit the brake pedal. Without any warning at all, I was suddenly pitched into the barriers.
After analysing what happened with my engineers, it emerged that the crash had been caused by a problem with the DRS. The device was left open a little longer than it should have been, and it was in this small amount of time that I arrived at the braking point.
The team worked fantastically well to get the car repaired in time to be out for the afternoon session. But unfortunately we only had one set of some of the technical developments that we brought to Montreal, and many of them were damaged beyond repair.
It meant that I had to continue the weekend without the best configuration possible for the Canadian track. Even so my pace was good and I was pleased with my qualifying lap, because I was able to be close to my teammate despite lacking some of the new faster parts.
In the race, everything was pointing to a good result and I was convinced I would be able to score more points in the championship. But unfortunately a problem with the power unit put an end to my afternoon.
Baku prospects
Despite the disappointment with my final result, I think the promise the team showed with the podium finish in Canada meant we should have a good chance on the next few tracks of the calendar, starting in Baku this weekend.
It is an unknown track, but with a very long straight that would sit well with our cars. There are also other characteristics that make it similar to Sochi and Montreal, two places we have shown well at.
Beyond that, I am looking forward to the Red Bull Ring, Silverstone and Hockenheim which should all potentially be good for us.
This year we have seen some quite big variations at circuits depending on their layout. Apart from Mercedes which is quick everywhere, there are some cars that can target good results on certain tracks, while on others they find themselves much further behind. I think that means there are still good possibilities for us.
The performance gap between teams appears to be levelling out. I remember last year that there were important differences of maximum speed in our favour, but 12 months later the situation has changed a lot.
Stability in regulations always leads to a general evening out of performance, and in Montreal we saw that there was just 5 km/h difference between 10 cars.
If that add that factor to the fact that the low temperatures were not conducive to tyre degradation, then it is no wonder there were so few opportunities for overtaking in the race.
Now though is the time to focus on Baku. The images I've seen of the track have intrigued me a great deal, and I'm looking forward to being out there.
And one last thing: once again our pitstops were the fastest in the field. I can only congratulate all the boys on the work they have done, and encourage them to carry on just like this.
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