Massa column: I feel Hamilton's pain, but I've had worse

The weekend in Malaysia started with different ambitions from the previous race in Singapore.

We knew that our Williams Martini Racing car would behave better at the high-speed Sepang, and on this front we had no surprises.

We confirmed a good competitive showing already in the qualifying session, which saw me get into Q3 very close to Force India, which is our closest rival in the constructors' standings.

Everything seemed to be heading in the right direction, but on Sunday we had a bit of a rude awakening before the formation lap.

My mechanics had got the engine started, but when I pressed the accelerator there was no response.

I pushed my foot several times down on the accelerator pedal as far as it would go, and put it in to first gear, but nothing happened.

At that point the only thing possible was to bring the car back in to the pits, where our engineers turned it off and on again. Incredibly the problem disappeared.

Nothing like this had ever happened before but we suspect it was a software problem.

And just like happens on a computer at home, after turning it off and turning it on again, everything worked normally.

I began the race right at the back, but my problems were not over. I almost immediately picked up a puncture, which effectively wiped away my chances of being able to pick up any points.

It was a shame because the race pace was good and there was a real chance to leave Malaysia with a bigger haul of points than Force India.

The race of my teammate Valtteri Bottas was good at least, and that minimised the damage we suffered.

Moving on, we can at least look forward to Japan though as it will be another good chance for us. I'm convinced the Suzuka weekend will confirm the promise we showed in Malaysia, but there will of course be higher degradation.

Going back to Sepang, we all saw the big disappointment of Lewis Hamilton. It reminded me very much what happened to me in 2008 in Budapest, when I was firmly in the lead at the Hungarian Grand Prix and a few laps from the end my engine failed suddenly on the finish straight.

Thing like this are hard blows for a driver to deal with. It is not just the disappointment of losing a race, but there is also the knowledge that points have gone missing in the championship.

I remember the great sadness I felt at the time, because you know that you have done nothing wrong. But mechanical problems are a part of the sport.

Unfortunately you have to take these things into account, and it is still easier to accept than what I suffered at Singapore in 2008...